The European Banking Authority has published updated Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process guidelines, reshaping the framework used by national supervisors to assess banks in line with the reforms introduced by the Banking Package, known as CRR3 and CRD VI. The revised guidelines mark one of the most significant updates to the EU's supervisory rulebook in recent years.
The updated SREP guidelines, released on 26 June 2026, are accompanied by an updated list of legal acts intended to help competent authorities carry out their SREP assessments consistently across the European Union. Together the documents form a package designed to align supervisory practice with the new prudential framework.
SCOPE OF THE UPDATED FRAMEWORK
The revised guidelines support competent authorities in their assessments of banks' business models, internal governance, capital and liquidity risks, giving supervisors a common methodology to evaluate the resilience of institutions across the EU. Business model analysis has become an increasingly important element of supervisory work as authorities seek to identify structural vulnerabilities early.
By updating the SREP framework, the EBA is aligning day-to-day supervisory practice with the substantive changes brought in by the Banking Package, which reshapes elements of the capital, credit risk, market risk and governance rulebook for EU banks. The updates ensure that supervisors have a coherent set of tools reflecting the new prudential landscape.
The changes also aim to preserve a level playing field, ensuring that as CRR3 and CRD VI provisions are phased in, national supervisors apply broadly consistent standards when reviewing banks' capital adequacy, liquidity buffers and governance arrangements. Consistency across jurisdictions has long been a central concern of the single rulebook project.
SUPPORTING TOOLS FOR SUPERVISORS
Alongside the updated guidelines, the EBA published an updated list of legal acts facilitating SREP assessments. The list catalogues the relevant EU legislation, regulatory technical standards and guidelines that competent authorities are expected to draw on when performing their reviews.
This inventory is designed to reduce fragmentation and to help supervisors identify the applicable rules efficiently, particularly as parts of the framework continue to evolve in the wake of the Banking Package. It functions as a practical reference tool for supervisors navigating a complex and rapidly changing rulebook.
For banks, the updated SREP guidelines signal how supervisors will interpret and apply the new rules in practice, from the assessment of internal governance and risk management to the calibration of capital and liquidity requirements under Pillar 2. Institutions will need to consider how their own internal processes align with the revised expectations.
The revised framework also has implications for supervisory dialogue with banks, shaping the questions and expectations that firms are likely to encounter in their annual interactions with regulators. Preparing for that dialogue will now involve engaging with the updated methodology set out in the guidelines.
National authorities will now be expected to reflect the updated SREP guidelines in their supervisory manuals and practices, embedding the new methodology in the annual review cycle. The EBA's parallel publication of the updated list of legal acts is intended to support that process by drawing together the applicable rulebook in one place.