CET1 buyback - sufficient certainty

Should CET1 buybacks be deducted from the CET1 capital from the moment the permission from the competent authority has been granted or from the moment the transaction has been announced?

Articles 28 and 32b of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 241/2014 state that the institution shall deduct the amounts to be repurchased from the institution’s own funds and eligible liabilities instruments where the action is expected to take place with sufficient certainty, and once the prior permission of the competent or the resolution authority has been obtained. The EBA already published the following Q&As concerning interpretation of this condition: Q&A 2017_3277: instruments containing call options in their terms and conditions: in case of the use of the call, “sufficient certainty” is deemed to exist only at the time of the announcement of the call of the instrument to the holders and the deduction shall take place only at that later point in time, Q&A 2023_6791: a permission to repurchase is based on the replacement condition: “sufficient certainty” is deemed to exist when the new issuance is effective and the deduction takes place at that point in time. Q&A 2024_7036: a liability management exercise without replacement (i.e. a tender offer) for AT1, Tier 2 or EL: “sufficient certainty” is deemed to exist only at the time of the announcement of the transaction The regulatory requirements concerning “sufficient certainly” are exactly the same for the CET1 instruments as for AT1 and Tier 2, and eligible liabilities, hence “sufficient certainty” should also be deemed to exist only at the time of the announcement of the CET1 buyback (similarly to answer provided in Q&A 2024_7036 for AT1, Tier 2 and EL).