EBA · 2024_7061 Rejected question

Definition of 'explicit guarantee arrangements' for the purpose of classification of non-commercial undertakings as public sector entities

Regulation
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR)
Article
4, para. 1
Topic
Credit risk
Submitted by
Accounting firm
Submitted
2024-04-23

Question

What conditions should be met by a given agreement in order to qualify as an 'explicit guarantee arrangement'? Shall the ‘explicit guarantee arrangements’ for the purpose of definition of public sector entities also be ‘guarantees’ eligible as unfunded credit protection or not? How much should the guarantee cover?

Background

Pursuant to Article 4(1)(8) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR), a public sector entity (PSE) means - i.a. - 'a non-commercial undertaking that is owned by or set up and sponsored by central governments, regional governments or local authorities, and that has explicit guarantee arrangements [...]'. However, neither any examples of such arrangements, nor conditions required for classification of a particular agreement as an 'explicit guarantee arrangement' are provided. The catalogue of agreements that remain ambiguous in the aforementioned context is especially numerous in case of non-commercial undertakings owned or set up and sponsored by regional governments or local authorities, with support agreements, endorsement agreements, execution contracts and other similar arrangements abound. Since a typical guarantee issued by a third-party can be treated as eligible unfunded credit protection, were a local authority to fully and explicitly guarantee an exposure towards a non-commercial undertaking, the effective risk weight assigned to said exposure would be the one typical for 'Exposures to regional governments or local authorities' i.e in most cases in the EU 0%. We therefore assume, that ‘guarantees’ eligible as unfunded credit protection  and the ‘explicit guarantee arrangements’ for the purpose of definition of public sector entities are not the same. We also assume that the ‘explicit guarantee arrangements’ does not mean a full state or municipal guarantee as that would leave no room for the 20% risk weight for PSEs as all PSEs would then become 0% riskweight exposures.
No answer published yet.

Original source: European Banking Authority, Q&A ID 2024_7061

This Q&A is published by European Banking Authority and is non-binding. It does not constitute legal advice. Updated weekly from official ESA sources.

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