The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its final Guidelines on the authorisation of third-country branches under the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD VI), the regulator confirmed on 7 July 2026. The guidelines set harmonised authorisation requirements for branches of non-EU banks seeking to operate across the European Union, closing an important part of the CRD VI implementation package and giving both supervisors and applicants a common reference point.
CRD VI introduces, for the first time, a single EU-level framework for third-country branches, replacing a patchwork of national regimes that had allowed significant variation between member states. The EBA's guidelines translate the directive's high-level requirements into operational expectations for national competent authorities and for applicant firms, addressing an area of the EU banking rulebook that has long been identified as inconsistent.
SCOPE AND APPLICATION CONTENT
The guidelines set out the scope of activities that third-country branches may undertake once authorised, and detail the content required in authorisation applications. This includes information on governance arrangements, business plans, capital and liquidity, and the branch's relationship with its head office in the home jurisdiction, along with details of the branch's proposed risk-management framework and internal controls.
By standardising the information that supervisors will require from applicants, the EBA aims to reduce inconsistency in how national authorities approach third-country branch approvals. That consistency is central to the CRD VI objective of creating a genuine cross-border framework for foreign bank presence in the single market, and is intended to prevent forum shopping between member states with historically lighter authorisation practices.
The guidelines are addressed both to competent authorities responsible for granting authorisations and to the third-country institutions that will apply for them. They form part of a wider suite of EBA work under CRD VI, including technical standards and reporting requirements that supervisors and firms will need to implement over the coming period as the directive's provisions take full effect.
CONSULTATION WITH HOME AUTHORITIES
A distinctive feature of the guidelines is the framework for consultation between EU competent authorities and the home-country supervisors of applicant banks. That process is intended to ensure that EU authorities have sufficient information about the parent institution's prudential position, group structure and risk profile before granting a branch authorisation, and to build a working relationship between host and home supervisors from the outset.
The EBA said in its press release that the final guidelines will support the consistent implementation of the CRD VI cross-border framework in the EU. Consistent implementation across member states has been a long-standing objective of the EBA's work, and third-country branches — as significant conduits for wholesale banking activity into the EU — are a natural focus for that harmonisation effort, particularly in the fields of investment banking and capital markets services.
With the final text now published, national competent authorities will be expected to incorporate the guidelines into their supervisory practice, and applicant institutions will need to align their authorisation submissions with the harmonised expectations set out by the EBA. Firms currently operating in the EU through third-country branch structures will also need to review their existing arrangements against the new framework as CRD VI's requirements take effect.