Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2083 of 26 September 2023 laying down implementing technical standards for the application of Article 16(1) of Directive (EU) 2021/2167of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the templates to be used by credit institutions for the provision to buyers of information on their credit exposures in the banking book (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive (EU) 2021/2167 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2021 on credit servicers and credit purchasers and amending Directives 2008/48/EC and 2014/17/EU (1), and in particular Article 16(6) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Before they purchase non-performing credit agreements, prospective buyers should have access to granular credit agreement-by-credit agreement information about the non-performing credit agreement itself, the counterparty, the collateral, the guarantees, the legal and enforcement procedures and the historical collection and repayment history. Standardisation of that information by means of common templates, data fields, definitions and characteristics should facilitate the sale of non-performing credit agreements on secondary markets and should reduce entry barriers for small credit institutions and smaller investors wishing to conclude transactions in respect of non-performing credit agreements.

(2) Credit institutions should use transaction data templates for non-performing credit agreements when selling or transferring non-performing credit agreements that are included in a portfolio for sales or transfers, in order to provide prospective buyers with all necessary information thereby enabling them to properly assess the value of the creditor’s rights under the non-performing credit agreement, or of the non-performing credit agreement itself, and the likelihood of recovery of the value. Applying such data templates to credit agreements would also reduce information asymmetries between prospective buyers and sellers of credit agreements and, thus, contribute to the development of a functioning secondary market in the Union. Credit institutions should use the templates in sales or transfers of such credit agreements involving a change to the lender of record under the credit agreement concerned.

(3) In order to provide prospective buyers with all necessary information to make an informed decision, credit institutions should use transaction data templates for transfers of non-performing credit agreements, including transfers to other credit institutions. The data templates should be proportionate to the nature and size of credits and credit portfolios. For that reason, that obligation should apply to transfers of non-performing credit agreements only and should not encompass complex transactions where non-performing credit agreements are included as a part of such a transaction. Credit institutions should not use such templates in the case of complex transactions, when selling or transferring other types of contracts, including credit default swaps, total return swaps and other derivative contracts, insurance contracts and sub-participation contracts in relation to non-performing credit agreements, or for transfers of non-performing credit agreements pursuant to such contracts.

(4) For the same reason, credit institutions should not use the transaction data templates for credit agreements, nor for sales or transfers of transferable securities, derivatives, or other financial instruments that fall under the scope of Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), securities financing transactions, other than margin lending transactions, as defined in Article 3, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2015/2365 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), nor for financial or other leases of movable or immovable property that are not covered by Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), and neither for sales or transfers of rights under such instruments, transactions or leases.

(5) In order to minimise processing costs for credit institutions and credit purchasers, as stated in Article 16(4), point (d), of Directive (EU) 2021/2167 , credit institutions should not use the transaction data templates for the disposals of non-performing credit agreements through securitisation, where Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) applies and the provision of the related information is governed by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1224 (6) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1225 (7).

(6) For the same reason, credit institutions should not use the transaction data templates for non-performing loans when selling such loans as part of sales of branches, sales of business lines or sales of clients’ portfolios which are not limited to non-performing loans, and transfers of such loans as part of an ongoing restructuring operation of the selling credit institution within insolvency, resolution, or liquidation proceedings.

(7) In order to respect the principle of proportionality, the transaction data templates for non-performing credit agreements should require different information depending on the nature and size of the non-performing credit agreements and should specify the data fields that have to be completed or specify the circumstances under which it is not mandatory to complete certain data fields. For the same reason, credit institutions should not be obliged to complete all data fields in the transaction data templates for all transactions. Such transactions should involve the sale or transfer of: (1) a single non-performing credit agreement; (2) several non-performing credit agreements linked to one single borrower; (3) non-performing credit agreements that are part of syndicated credit agreement facilities; (4) non-performing credit agreements linked to a borrower that is domiciled outside of the Union; (5) non-performing credit agreements that have been acquired from an entity that is not a credit institution, as in such situations credit institutions may not have all the information required to complete all data fields; (6) non-performing credit agreements to natural persons, where those transactions concern small unsecured credit agreements that are outside the scope of Directive 2008/48/EC. The same approach should apply in the case of a sale or transfer of non-performing credit agreements between credit institutions that belong to the same group.

(8) To enable prospective buyers of non-performing credit agreements to perform their financial due diligence and to value non-performing credit agreements before entering into a buy-sell transaction and before committing to a specific price, credit institutions should provide such prospective buyers with all necessary information early enough in the sale process. However, considering the level of detail of such information and the associated confidentiality implications, credit institutions should provide such information only to those prospective buyers that are seriously interested in purchasing the non-performing credit agreements concerned. For data protection reasons, credit institutions should only be allowed to provide personal data in cases where it is necessary to identify individuals whose credit agreements are non-performing. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) applies to the processing of personal data in the context of this implementing Regulation.

(9) Information that prospective buyers of non-performing credit agreements need to perform their financial due diligence and valuation of those credit agreements may contain elements that the credit institutions consider confidential on the basis of legal confidentiality requirements, or on the basis of commercial considerations. Credit institutions should therefore determine which data fields are to be considered confidential and should ensure that all confidential information is shared through secure channels and only after appropriate confidentiality arrangements have been put in place between the credit institution and the prospective buyer. Such secure channels may be electronic virtual data rooms set up by the credit institutions to grant access to the prospective buyers to the necessary information. Credit institutions should ensure that such virtual data rooms meet the applicable industry standards for confidentiality and data security.

(10) To facilitate the exchange of information, credit institutions should provide the information in electronic and machine-readable form, unless credit institutions and prospective buyers agree otherwise. Where credit institutions use electronic auction platforms or electronic transaction platforms to organise the sales or transfer process of non-performing credit agreements, specific requirements for the electronic and machine-readable format may be set out by such platforms.

(11) As part of the negotiation of the sales or transfer transaction, credit institutions may agree with prospective buyers to provide additional information regarding non-performing credit agreements beyond what is required by data templates. To that end, the design of the templates should allow for the provision of such additional data fields. Such additional information should as a rule not contain additional personal data, in line with the principle of data minimisation and data protection by design and by default.

(12) This Regulation is based on the draft implementing technical standards submitted to the Commission by the European Banking Authority. The European Banking Authority has conducted open public consultations on the draft implementing technical standards on which this Regulation is based, analysed the potential related costs and benefits and requested the opinion of the Banking Stakeholder Group established in accordance with Article 37 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9).

(13) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted on this Implementation Regulation in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10) and delivered an opinion on 25 July 2023,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Scope

(a) sales of non-performing credit agreements as part of sales of branches, sales of business lines or sales of clients’ portfolios which are not limited to non-performing credit agreements and transfers of non-performing credit agreements as part of an ongoing restructuring operation of the selling credit institution within insolvency, resolution or liquidation proceedings;

(b) sales or transfers of non-performing credit agreements through securitisation, where Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 applies and the provision of the related information is governed by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1224 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1225;

(c) sales or transfers of non-performing credit agreements pursuant to credit default swap, total return swap and other derivative contracts, contracts of insurance and sub-participation contracts;

(d) sales or transfers of non-performing credit agreements pursuant to a financial collateral arrangement as defined in Article 2(1), point (a), of Directive 2002/47/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (12) or a transaction that would be a securities financing transaction as defined in Article 4(1), point (139) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘buyer’ means a credit purchaser, or a credit institution that receives a non-performing credit agreement in a transaction with another credit institution;

(2) ‘counterparty’ means either a borrower or a protection provider in relation to the non-performing credit agreement being sold or transferred;

(3) ‘protection provider’ means protection provider as defined in Article 1, point (13), of Regulation (EU) 2016/867 of the European Central Bank (13);

(4) ‘cut-off date’ means the reference date for the provision of information by credit institutions;

(5) ‘non-performing credit agreement’ is a credit agreement as defined in Article 3, point (13), of Directive (EU) 2021/2167 which is classified as a non-performing exposure in accordance with Article 47a (3), points (a), (b) and (c) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013;

Article 3

Information to be provided by credit institutions

(a) counterparty, as set out in Template 1 of Annex I;

(b) credit agreement, as set out in Template 3 of Annex I;

(c) collateral, guarantee and enforcement, as set out in Template 4.1 of Annex I;

(d) mortgage guarantee, as set out in Template 4.2 of Annex I;

(e) historical collection of repayments, as set out in Template 5 of Annex I.

Article 4

Information granularity, completeness, and accuracy

(a) sales or transfers of a single non-performing credit agreement or non-performing credit agreements towards a single borrower;

(b) sales or transfers of non-performing credit agreements under or forming a part of syndicated credit agreement facilities;

(c) sales or transfers of non-performing credit agreement where the borrower is not domiciled in the Union, or has no registered office in the Union;

(d) sales or transfers of non-performing credit agreements by a credit institution to an undertaking which is a member of the same group as defined in Article 4(1), point (138), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013;

(e) sales or transfers of non-performing credit agreements that the credit institution previously acquired from an entity other than a credit institution established in the Union and subject to the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013;

(f) sales or transfers of unsecured non-performing credit agreements where a borrower is a natural person and where such credit agreements do not fall under the scope of Directive 2008/48/EC.

Article 5

Operational procedures for the provision of information

Article 6

Treatment of personal data and confidential information

(a) shall enter into confidentiality agreements drafted in conformity with applicable Union law;

(b) shall share personal data only insofar as necessary before entering into a contract for the transfer or sale of non-performing credit agreements.

Article 7

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 26 September 2023.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 438, 8.12.2021, p. 1.

(2) Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EU (recast) (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 349).

(3) Regulation (EU) 2015/2365 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on transparency of securities financing transactions and of reuse and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 1).

(4) Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on credit agreements for consumers and repealing Council Directive 87/102/EEC (OJ L 133, 22.5.2008, p. 66).

(5) Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 laying down a general framework for securitisation and creating a specific framework for simple, transparent and standardised securitisation, and amending Directives 2009/65/EC, 2009/138/EC and 2011/61/EU and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ l 347, 28.12.2017, p. 35).

(6) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1224 of 16 October 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the information and the details of a securitisation to be made available by the originator, sponsor and SSPE (OJ L 289, 3.9.2020, p. 1).

(7) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1225 of 29 October 2019 laying down implementing technical standards with regard to the format and standardised templates for making available the information and details of a securitization by the originator, sponsor and SSPE (OJ L 289, 3.9.2020, p. 217).

(8) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).

(9) Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/78/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 12).

(10) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).

(11) Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 1).

(12) Directive 2002/47/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 June 2002 on financial collateral arrangements (OJ L 168, 27.6.2002, p. 43).

(13) Regulation (EU) 2016/867 of the European Central Bank of 18 May 2016 on the collection of granular credit and credit risk data (OJ L 144, 1.6.2016, p. 44).