The European Union has reached a “political agreement” on new capital adequacy rules for banks’ digital assets.
The European Union has reached a “political agreement” on new capital adequacy rules for banks’ digital assets.
The news was announced by the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs committee. It said that negotiators from the parliament, national governments and the European Commission (EC) had “struck a deal” on changes to Capital Requirements Regulation & Directive.
The negotiations, chaired by Swedish finance minister Elisabeth Svantesson, centred on concerns about unbacked crypto assets entering the financial system and the need for more stringent capital adequacy rules.
According to Svantesson, the new rules will “boost the strength and resilience of banks operating in the Union”.
The agreement, which also takes into account changes to banks corporate and home loans risk assessments, includes the inclusion of a “transitional prudential regime for crypto assets”, however there are few details on exactly how this regime will operate.
The regulation of digital and crypto assets is currently a pressing matter for supervisors and lawmakers globally.
In the US, the Securities and Exchanges Commission is locked in a number of legal battles with crypto exchanges over whether crypto assets should be defined as securities.
Meanwhile, the Bank of International Settlements’ Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is finalising its own capital adequacy rules for crypto.