Obecné zásady Evropské centrální banky (EU) 2026/689 ze dne 22. ledna 2026, kterými se mění obecné zásady (EU) 2015/510 o provádění rámce měnové politiky Eurosystému (ECB/2014/60) (ECB/2026/1)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 127(2), first indent, thereof,

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular Article 3.1, first indent, Articles 9.2, 12.1, 14.3 and 18.2, and Article 20, first paragraph, thereof,

Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the European Central Bank of 19 December 2014 on the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework (General Documentation Guideline) (ECB/2014/60) (OJ L 91, 2.4.2015, p. 3 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/guideline/2015/510/oj).

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(1) Achieving a single monetary policy entails defining the tools, instruments and procedures to be used by the Eurosystem, which consists of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks of those Member States whose currency is the euro (hereinafter the NCBs), in order to implement such a policy in a uniform manner throughout the Member States whose currency is the euro.

(2) On 29 November 2024 , the Governing Council decided on certain measures aimed at fostering greater harmonisation of the Eurosystem collateral framework. Firstly, certain asset types accepted under the temporary framework should be integrated into the general collateral framework, namely (a) marketable assets denominated in US dollars, pounds sterling and Japanese yen; and (b) asset-backed securities with a second-best rating of credit quality step 3 on the Eurosystem’s harmonised rating scale and which fulfil the eligibility criteria stipulated in the temporary collateral framework. Secondly, NCBs’ statistical in-house credit assessment systems (S-ICASs) should be accepted as a credit assessment source in addition to the NCBs’ in-house credit assessment systems (ICASs) that are presently accepted, and consequently the latter should be known as full in-house credit assessment systems (F-ICASs), to distinguish them from S-ICASs. Thirdly, in relation to the procedure for acceptance of S-ICASs as a counterparty’s third credit assessment source, it is appropriate to waive the requirement for the submission of a reasoned statement supported by an adequate business case in order to facilitate the use of S-ICASs. Lastly, the Governing Council also decided that the eligibility of retail mortgage-backed debt instruments (RMBDs) and non-marketable debt instruments backed by eligible credit claims (DECCs) as collateral for Eurosystem credit operations should be discontinued due to limited historical use and low demand, in order to simplify the Eurosystem collateral framework.

(3) Following the expiry of the transition period in relation to the use of the ECB loan-level data reporting templates and the phasing-out of the Eurosystem´s designation process for loan-level data repositories, as decided by the Governing Council on 22 March 2019 , consequential amendments are required to the relevant provisions of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework.

(4) In relation to the eligibility criteria applied to asset-backed securities as eligible collateral for Eurosystem credit operations, further refinement is needed to explicitly exclude asset-backed securities where the issuer of those securities is subject to residual value risk.

(5) For the treatment of entities for which a resolution scheme based on an open bank resolution strategy has been adopted a clarification of the Eurosystem counterparty framework is necessary in order to reflect the applicable processes and deadlines when assessing financial soundness.

(6) Further clarification is provided regarding the assessment of a counterparty’s financial soundness in the case of discretionary measures taken by the Eurosystem on the grounds of prudence.

(7) The eligibility criteria applied to floating coupons that are linked to an inflation index reference rate should be defined by means of specific provisions that set them apart from those applying to instruments with other floating coupons and provide more clarity.

(8) It should be clarified that the eligibility criteria regarding the issuance form of international debt instruments should only apply to international debt instruments that are issued through international central securities depositories (ICSDs) in global note form and represented by a physical (paper) certificate or by an electronic (digital) copy of a paper global note. However, for international debt instruments issued through the ICSDs in fully dematerialised form the Eurosystem should reserve the right to verify that such instruments (a) do not give rise to material risks that might affect the Eurosystem’s rights as collateral holder; and (b) are validly constituted under their governing law, irrespective of the technology that supports their issuance.

(9) The eligibility criteria applied to credit claims as eligible collateral for Eurosystem credit operations should be clarified by explicitly excluding non-performing credit claims, in order to ensure that the Eurosystem is protected from the risks they present and that only adequate collateral for Eurosystem credit operations is accepted.

(10) Given the wide variations in the number, value and types of assets, as well as the circumstances that may be involved in an occasion of non-compliance, adjustments should be made to permit more efficient and flexible application of financial and non-financial penalties imposed on counterparties which fail to comply with certain rules in relation to monetary policy operations.

(11) On 23 July 2025 , the Governing Council decided to introduce a climate factor in the Eurosystem’s collateral framework. The Eurosystem conducts credit operations with eligible counterparties to achieve its primary objective of price stability, which is defined by the Governing Council as a symmetric 2 % inflation target over the medium term. Pursuant to Article 18.1 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, these operations are to be secured by adequate collateral. A key risk in these operations is the potential decline in collateral value in the event that a counterparty defaults and the Eurosystem becomes the legal owner of the collateral for an uncertain period of time.

(12) The Eurosystem employs several measures within its current collateral framework to mitigate financial risks associated with its lending operations, however the potential financial impact of climate transition-related uncertainties remains unaddressed. The associated financial risks for the Eurosystem arise from the potential for asset repricing due to unexpected climate transition shocks as the economy moves toward a low-carbon future, driven by changes in policy, technology, market dynamics, and consumer preferences. The Governing Council has therefore decided to introduce a climate factor, which is an additional risk control measure aimed at mitigating the potential financial impact of climate transition-related uncertainties by adjusting the value assigned to eligible marketable assets issued by certain non-financial corporations and their affiliates, and mobilised as collateral depending on the extent to which they can be impacted by forward-looking climate transition-related uncertainties.

(13) The adjustment of the value assigned to eligible assets mobilised as collateral should be based on a set of objective criteria with a view to ensuring that the measure is suitable for attaining its stated objective of financial risk mitigation and does not go beyond what is necessary to attain that objective. The climate factor should be derived from an uncertainty score composed of three elements: (a) a sector-specific stressor: a uniform market factor derived from the expected shortfall in the adverse scenario of the Eurosystem climate stress test, which applies to all assets issued by firms within a specific sector; (b) an issuer-specific exposure: a measure of an issuer’s exposure to transition-related uncertainties, based on the methodology developed for the tilting of the purchases under the Corporate Sector Purchase Programme (CSPP); and (c) an asset-specific vulnerability: an assessment of how sensitive an asset’s market price is to unexpected future climate shocks, taking into account its residual maturity. Based on the uncertainty score, the Eurosystem should assign a climate factor to each eligible marketable asset within the scope of the risk management measure, which may further adjust its collateral value after the application of other risk control measures. Assets which become eligible between two annual update exercises in relation to the climate factor should initially be assigned a median climate factor of the asset type to which they belong, specifically, bond, medium term note or commercial paper. The application of a median climate factor based on the asset type reflects the inherent price sensitivity differences to similar shocks among asset types, and balances risk management with efficiency considerations until the next annual update exercise.

(14) The climate factor should be calibrated in such a way that the Eurosystem’s ability to implement monetary policy through broad collateral availability will remain intact.

(15) The climate factor should reflect climate transition-related uncertainties to which marketable assets issued by certain non-financial corporations as well as their affiliated entities may be exposed. The focus on these marketable assets is driven by better data availability in this segment and the experience that the Eurosystem has gained with integrating climate transition risks in the CSPP. The climate factor, including its scope, methodology and calibration, should be reviewed regularly by the Governing Council and updated as necessary to (a) reflect the increasing availability of relevant data and models; and (b) take stock of relevant regulatory developments and advances in risk assessment capabilities.

(16) Through the introduction of the climate factor as an additional risk control measure, the Eurosystem further ensures that it complies with Article 11 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which requires that environmental protection requirements are integrated into the definition and implementation of the Union’s policies and activities, which includes the Union’s monetary policy. Similarly, the introduction of the measure ensures compliance with the obligations of the Eurosystem under Article 7 of the Treaty, which requires the Union to ensure consistency between its policies and activities.

(17) Given the technical implementation of the climate factor within the Eurosystem Collateral Management System (ECMS), it is necessary to align the application date of the climate factor with the release date of the ECMS that occurs in the second quarter of 2026, and therefore the climate factor should be applied from 15 June 2026 .

(18) Therefore, Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/60)Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the European Central Bank of 19 December 2014 on the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework (General Documentation Guideline) (ECB/2014/60) (OJ L 91, 2.4.2015, p. 3 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/guideline/2015/510/oj). should be amended accordingly,

This Guideline shall take effect on the day of its notification to the NCBs.

The NCBs shall take the necessary measures to comply with this Guideline and apply them from 30 March 2026 . They shall notify the ECB of the texts and means relating to those measures by 4 March 2026 at the latest.

Article 2 Article 2 Taking effect and implementation 1.This Guideline shall take effect on the day of its notification to the NCBs. 2.The NCBs shall take the necessary measures to comply with this Guideline and apply them from 30 March 2026 . They shall notify the ECB of the texts and means relating to those measures by 4 March 2026 at the latest.

Article 3 Article 3 Addressees

Article 65 Article 65 Currency of denomination of marketable assets

Article 66a Article 66a Form of issuance of certain marketable assets 1.The following eligibility criteria shall only apply to international debt instruments that are issued through the ICSDs in a global note form and represented by a physical (paper) certificate or by an electronic (digital) copy of a paper global note. (a) Where such instruments are issued in global bearer form, they shall be issued in the form of new global notes (NGNs) and shall be deposited with a common safekeeper which is an ICSD or a CSD that operates (i) an eligible SSS; or (ii) an SSS with an eligible link to an eligible SSS. This requirement shall not apply to international debt instruments issued in global bearer form issued in the form of classical global notes prior to 1 January 2007 and fungible tap issuances of such notes issued under the same ISIN irrespective of the date of the tap issuance.(b) Where such instruments are issued in global registered form, they shall be issued under the new safekeeping structure for international debt instruments. By way of derogation, this shall not apply to international debt instruments issued in global registered form prior to 1 October 2010 . 2.International debt instruments in individual note form which are represented by individual physical (paper) certificates shall not be eligible unless they were issued in individual note form prior to 1 October 2010 . 3.For international debt instruments that are issued through the ICSDs in fully dematerialised form, the Eurosystem reserves the right to verify that such instruments do not give rise to material risks that might affect the Eurosystem’s rights as collateral holder and are validly constituted under the law governing such instruments, irrespective of the technology that supports their issuance.

Article 72 Article 72 Eligibility criteria for asset-backed securities 1.In order to be eligible for Eurosystem credit operations, ABSs with a credit assessment corresponding, as a minimum, to credit quality step 2 on the Eurosystem’s harmonised rating scale shall comply with (a) the general eligibility criteria relating to all types of marketable assets laid down in Section 1, except for the requirements laid down in Article 62 relating to the principal amount; and (b) the specific eligibility criteria laid down in Articles 73 to 79a. 2.In order to be eligible for Eurosystem credit operations, ABSs with a credit assessment corresponding to credit quality step 3 on the Eurosystem’s harmonised rating scale shall comply with the requirements set out in paragraph 1 and with the additional specific eligibility criteria laid down in Article 79b.

Article 78 Article 78 Availability of loan-level data for asset-backed securities 1.In order for ABSs to become or remain eligible, comprehensive and standardised loan-level data on the pool of cash-flow generating assets backing the ABSs shall be made available by the relevant parties to a securitisation repository in accordance with this Article. 1a.Loan-level data shall be submitted for each individual transaction using the relevant templates specified in the implementing technical standards adopted by the Commission as referred to in Article 7(4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2402. The relevant template to be submitted depends on the type of asset that backs the ABS, as specified in Article 73(1), points (a) to (f). 1b.Loan-level data shall be reported at least on a quarterly basis, but no later than one month following a due date for the payment of interest on the relevant ABSs. For the purpose of the templates referred to in paragraph 1a, the pool cut-off date shall be the date on which a snapshot of the performance of the underlying assets was captured for the respective report that is required to be submitted and the respective date of submission of report shall be no more than two months after such pool cut-off date. 1c.To ensure compliance with the requirements in paragraphs 1, 1a and 1b, automated consistency and accuracy checks on reports shall be conducted on all new and updated loan-level data for each transaction by the loan-level data repository.

Article 79b Article 79b Additional eligibility criteria for asset-backed securities with a credit assessment equal to credit quality step 3 1.In order to be eligible, ABSs with a credit assessment equal to credit quality step 3 on the Eurosystem’s harmonised rating scale shall comply with the following additional specific eligibility criteria: (a) the pool of cash-flow generating assets backing the ABS shall not contain, at the time of issuance of the ABS or when added to the pool subsequently – for example by means of a substitution or replacement of the cash-flow generating assets – loans in respect of which payment of interest or principal is more than 90 days past due and the obligor is in default as defined in Article 178 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, or when there are good reasons to doubt that payment of such interest or principal will be made in full;(b) the pool of cash-flow generating assets shall not contain loans that are, or have at any point in time been, structured loans, syndicated loans or leveraged loans;(c) the ABS transaction documentation shall contain servicing continuity provisions. 2.A counterparty may not submit as collateral an ABS that complies with the additional specific eligibility criteria set out in paragraph 1 if the counterparty, or any third party with which it has close links, acts as an interest rate hedge provider in relation to the ABS. 3.For the purposes of this Article the following definitions shall apply: (a) structured loan means a loan whose structure includes subordinated credit claims;(b) syndicated loan means a loan provided by a group of lenders in a lending syndicate;(c) leveraged loan means a loan provided to a company that already has a considerable degree of indebtedness, such as buy-out or take-over-financing, where the loan is used for the purpose of acquiring the equity of a company which is also the obligor of the loan;(d) servicing continuity provisions means provisions in the legal documentation of an ABS that contain back-up servicer provisions or, if there is no back-up servicer, back-up servicer facilitator provisions;(e) back-up servicer facilitator provisions means provisions that: (i) require the nomination and mandating of a back-up servicer facilitator to find a suitable back-up servicer within 60 days of the occurrence of a trigger event in order to ensure timely payment and servicing of the ABS; and (ii) provide that there shall be no close links between each of the servicer, the back-up servicer facilitator and the issuer account bank at the same time.(f) back-up servicer provisions means provisions that: (i) provide for triggers for the replacement of the servicer that are linked to changes in the rating of the servicer, non-performance of obligations by the servicer, and/or any other industry-standard triggers for servicer replacement; and (ii) provide that there shall be no close links between the back-up servicer and the servicer.

This Guideline is addressed to all Eurosystem central banks.

Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 laying down a general framework for securitisation and creating a specific framework for simple, transparent and standardised securitisation, and amending Directives 2009/65/EC, 2009/138/EC and 2011/61/EU and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 347, 28.12.2017, p. 35 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/2402/oj).;

Article 155 Article 155 Financial penalties for non-compliance with certain operational rules 1.If a counterparty fails to comply with an obligation referred to in Article 154(1), the Eurosystem shall impose a financial penalty for each occasion of non-compliance. For the purposes of Part Five, each individual asset mobilised as collateral that is affected by an occasion of non-compliance shall constitute a case of non-compliance. The applicable financial penalty shall comprise the following: (a) a fixed amount of EUR 500 in respect of each occasion of non-compliance notified by the NCB to the counterparty, irrespective of the number of assets mobilised as collateral that are affected by the occasion of non-compliance;(b) a variable amount in respect of each asset mobilised as collateral that is affected by the occasion of non-compliance, calculated in accordance with Annex VII, Section I. 2.The total applicable financial penalty calculated in accordance with paragraph 1 and Annex VII shall be reduced by 50 % in any of the following cases of self-reported non-compliance: (a) where a counterparty rectifies a failure to comply with an obligation referred to in Article 154(1), point (c), and notifies the NCB of such rectification before the counterparty has been notified of the non-compliance by the NCB, ECB or an external auditor;(b) where a counterparty notifies the NCB of an occasion of non-compliance that (i) was not discovered by the NCB or ECB; and (ii) occurred in respect of assets that have been demobilised. The reduction of the financial penalty shall not be applicable to assets that fall under the scope of an ongoing verification procedure of which the counterparty is aware due to a notification by the NCB, ECB or an external auditor.

Article 156 Article 156 Non-financial penalties for non-compliance with certain operational rules 1.In the case of non-compliance by a counterparty with an obligation of the same type as referred to in Article 154(1), point (a) or point (b), the following shall apply: (a) the Eurosystem may suspend the counterparty on the third and any subsequent occasion of such non-compliance within a 12-month period, if in relation to each such occasion of non-compliance both conditions (i) and (ii) are fulfilled:(i) a financial penalty was imposed;(ii) each decision to impose a financial penalty was notified to the counterparty; (b) the 12-month period referred to in point (a) shall be calculated from the date of notification of the first occasion of non-compliance with an obligation of the same type as referred to in Article 154(1), point (a) or point (b), as applicable. A first self-reported occasion of non-compliance as described in Article 155(2) that occurs within the relevant 12-month period shall not be counted as an occasion of non-compliance. 2.Any suspension imposed by the Eurosystem under paragraph 1 shall apply in respect of any subsequent open market operation which is of the same type as the open market operation which resulted in the imposition of a financial penalty as referred to in paragraph 1. 3.The period of suspension imposed in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be determined in accordance with Annex VII. 4.In the case of non-compliance by a counterparty with an obligation of the same type as referred to in Article 154(1), point (c), the following shall apply: (a) the Eurosystem may suspend the counterparty on the third and any subsequent occasion of non-compliance within a 12-month period if in relation to each such occasion of non-compliance both conditions (i) and (ii) are fulfilled:(i) a financial penalty was imposed;(ii) each decision to impose a financial penalty was notified to the counterparty; (b) the 12-month period referred to in point (a) shall be calculated from the date of notification of the first occasion of non-compliance with an obligation of the same type as referred to in Article 154(1), point (c). A first self-reported occasion of non-compliance as described in Article 155(2) that occurs within the relevant 12-month period shall not be counted as an occasion of non-compliance;(c) any suspension imposed pursuant to point (a) shall apply for the first liquidity-providing open market operation within the reserve maintenance period following the notification of the suspension. 5.In exceptional cases, the Eurosystem may suspend a counterparty for a period of three months in respect of all future Eurosystem monetary policy operations in the case of any occasion of non-compliance with Article 154(1). In such a case, the Eurosystem shall have regard to the seriousness of the case and, in particular, to the amounts involved and to the frequency and duration of non-compliance.

Article 157 Article 157 Application of non-financial penalties to branches for non-compliance with certain operational rules

Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms and amending Council Directive 82/891/EEC, and Directives 2001/24/EC, 2002/47/EC, 2004/25/EC, 2005/56/EC, 2007/36/EC, 2011/35/EU, 2012/30/EU and 2013/36/EU, and Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 648/2012, of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 190 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/59/oj).

Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2014 establishing uniform rules and a uniform procedure for the resolution of credit institutions and certain investment firms in the framework of a Single Resolution Mechanism and a Single Resolution Fund and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 (OJ L 225, 30.7.2014, p. 1 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/806/oj.;

Guideline (EU) 2016/65 of the European Central Bank of 18 November 2015 on the valuation haircuts applied in the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework (ECB/2015/35) (OJ L 14, 21.1.2016, p. 30 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/guideline/2016/65/oj).;

Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds and amending Directives 2008/48/EC and 2014/17/EU and Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (OJ L 171, 29.6.2016, p. 1 , ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/1011/oj).;

Information on the credit quality steps is published on the ECB’s website.

In order to be eligible, debt instruments shall be denominated in one of the following currencies: euro, one of the former currencies of the Member States whose currency is the euro, pounds sterling, yen or US dollars.

The following eligibility criteria shall only apply to international debt instruments that are issued through the ICSDs in a global note form and represented by a physical (paper) certificate or by an electronic (digital) copy of a paper global note.

(a) Where such instruments are issued in global bearer form, they shall be issued in the form of new global notes (NGNs) and shall be deposited with a common safekeeper which is an ICSD or a CSD that operates (i) an eligible SSS; or (ii) an SSS with an eligible link to an eligible SSS. This requirement shall not apply to international debt instruments issued in global bearer form issued in the form of classical global notes prior to 1 January 2007 and fungible tap issuances of such notes issued under the same ISIN irrespective of the date of the tap issuance.

(b) Where such instruments are issued in global registered form, they shall be issued under the new safekeeping structure for international debt instruments. By way of derogation, this shall not apply to international debt instruments issued in global registered form prior to 1 October 2010 .

International debt instruments in individual note form which are represented by individual physical (paper) certificates shall not be eligible unless they were issued in individual note form prior to 1 October 2010 .

For international debt instruments that are issued through the ICSDs in fully dematerialised form, the Eurosystem reserves the right to verify that such instruments do not give rise to material risks that might affect the Eurosystem’s rights as collateral holder and are validly constituted under the law governing such instruments, irrespective of the technology that supports their issuance.

In order to be eligible for Eurosystem credit operations, ABSs with a credit assessment corresponding, as a minimum, to credit quality step 2 on the Eurosystem’s harmonised rating scale shall comply with (a) the general eligibility criteria relating to all types of marketable assets laid down in Section 1, except for the requirements laid down in Article 62 relating to the principal amount; and (b) the specific eligibility criteria laid down in Articles 73 to 79a.

In order to be eligible for Eurosystem credit operations, ABSs with a credit assessment corresponding to credit quality step 3 on the Eurosystem’s harmonised rating scale shall comply with the requirements set out in paragraph 1 and with the additional specific eligibility criteria laid down in Article 79b.

In order for ABSs to become or remain eligible, comprehensive and standardised loan-level data on the pool of cash-flow generating assets backing the ABSs shall be made available by the relevant parties to a securitisation repository in accordance with this Article.

Loan-level data shall be submitted for each individual transaction using the relevant templates specified in the implementing technical standards adopted by the Commission as referred to in Article 7(4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2402. The relevant template to be submitted depends on the type of asset that backs the ABS, as specified in Article 73(1), points (a) to (f).

Loan-level data shall be reported at least on a quarterly basis, but no later than one month following a due date for the payment of interest on the relevant ABSs. For the purpose of the templates referred to in paragraph 1a, the pool cut-off date shall be the date on which a snapshot of the performance of the underlying assets was captured for the respective report that is required to be submitted and the respective date of submission of report shall be no more than two months after such pool cut-off date.

To ensure compliance with the requirements in paragraphs 1, 1a and 1b, automated consistency and accuracy checks on reports shall be conducted on all new and updated loan-level data for each transaction by the loan-level data repository.

In order to be eligible, ABSs with a credit assessment equal to credit quality step 3 on the Eurosystem’s harmonised rating scale shall comply with the following additional specific eligibility criteria:

(a) the pool of cash-flow generating assets backing the ABS shall not contain, at the time of issuance of the ABS or when added to the pool subsequently – for example by means of a substitution or replacement of the cash-flow generating assets – loans in respect of which payment of interest or principal is more than 90 days past due and the obligor is in default as defined in Article 178 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, or when there are good reasons to doubt that payment of such interest or principal will be made in full;

(b) the pool of cash-flow generating assets shall not contain loans that are, or have at any point in time been, structured loans, syndicated loans or leveraged loans;

(c) the ABS transaction documentation shall contain servicing continuity provisions.

A counterparty may not submit as collateral an ABS that complies with the additional specific eligibility criteria set out in paragraph 1 if the counterparty, or any third party with which it has close links, acts as an interest rate hedge provider in relation to the ABS.

For the purposes of this Article the following definitions shall apply:

(a) structured loan means a loan whose structure includes subordinated credit claims;

(b) syndicated loan means a loan provided by a group of lenders in a lending syndicate;

(c) leveraged loan means a loan provided to a company that already has a considerable degree of indebtedness, such as buy-out or take-over-financing, where the loan is used for the purpose of acquiring the equity of a company which is also the obligor of the loan;

(d) servicing continuity provisions means provisions in the legal documentation of an ABS that contain back-up servicer provisions or, if there is no back-up servicer, back-up servicer facilitator provisions;

(e) back-up servicer facilitator provisions means provisions that: (i) require the nomination and mandating of a back-up servicer facilitator to find a suitable back-up servicer within 60 days of the occurrence of a trigger event in order to ensure timely payment and servicing of the ABS; and (ii) provide that there shall be no close links between each of the servicer, the back-up servicer facilitator and the issuer account bank at the same time.

(f) back-up servicer provisions means provisions that: (i) provide for triggers for the replacement of the servicer that are linked to changes in the rating of the servicer, non-performance of obligations by the servicer, and/or any other industry-standard triggers for servicer replacement; and (ii) provide that there shall be no close links between the back-up servicer and the servicer.

If a counterparty fails to comply with an obligation referred to in Article 154(1), the Eurosystem shall impose a financial penalty for each occasion of non-compliance. For the purposes of Part Five, each individual asset mobilised as collateral that is affected by an occasion of non-compliance shall constitute a case of non-compliance. The applicable financial penalty shall comprise the following:

(a) a fixed amount of EUR 500 in respect of each occasion of non-compliance notified by the NCB to the counterparty, irrespective of the number of assets mobilised as collateral that are affected by the occasion of non-compliance;

(b) a variable amount in respect of each asset mobilised as collateral that is affected by the occasion of non-compliance, calculated in accordance with Annex VII, Section I.

The total applicable financial penalty calculated in accordance with paragraph 1 and Annex VII shall be reduced by 50 % in any of the following cases of self-reported non-compliance:

(a) where a counterparty rectifies a failure to comply with an obligation referred to in Article 154(1), point (c), and notifies the NCB of such rectification before the counterparty has been notified of the non-compliance by the NCB, ECB or an external auditor;

(b) where a counterparty notifies the NCB of an occasion of non-compliance that (i) was not discovered by the NCB or ECB; and (ii) occurred in respect of assets that have been demobilised. The reduction of the financial penalty shall not be applicable to assets that fall under the scope of an ongoing verification procedure of which the counterparty is aware due to a notification by the NCB, ECB or an external auditor.

In the case of non-compliance by a counterparty with an obligation of the same type as referred to in Article 154(1), point (a) or point (b), the following shall apply:

(a) the Eurosystem may suspend the counterparty on the third and any subsequent occasion of such non-compliance within a 12-month period, if in relation to each such occasion of non-compliance both conditions (i) and (ii) are fulfilled:(i) a financial penalty was imposed;(ii) each decision to impose a financial penalty was notified to the counterparty;

(i) a financial penalty was imposed;

(ii) each decision to impose a financial penalty was notified to the counterparty;

(b) the 12-month period referred to in point (a) shall be calculated from the date of notification of the first occasion of non-compliance with an obligation of the same type as referred to in Article 154(1), point (a) or point (b), as applicable. A first self-reported occasion of non-compliance as described in Article 155(2) that occurs within the relevant 12-month period shall not be counted as an occasion of non-compliance.

Any suspension imposed by the Eurosystem under paragraph 1 shall apply in respect of any subsequent open market operation which is of the same type as the open market operation which resulted in the imposition of a financial penalty as referred to in paragraph 1.

The period of suspension imposed in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be determined in accordance with Annex VII.

In the case of non-compliance by a counterparty with an obligation of the same type as referred to in Article 154(1), point (c), the following shall apply:

(a) the Eurosystem may suspend the counterparty on the third and any subsequent occasion of non-compliance within a 12-month period if in relation to each such occasion of non-compliance both conditions (i) and (ii) are fulfilled:(i) a financial penalty was imposed;(ii) each decision to impose a financial penalty was notified to the counterparty;

(i) a financial penalty was imposed;

(ii) each decision to impose a financial penalty was notified to the counterparty;

(b) the 12-month period referred to in point (a) shall be calculated from the date of notification of the first occasion of non-compliance with an obligation of the same type as referred to in Article 154(1), point (c). A first self-reported occasion of non-compliance as described in Article 155(2) that occurs within the relevant 12-month period shall not be counted as an occasion of non-compliance;

(c) any suspension imposed pursuant to point (a) shall apply for the first liquidity-providing open market operation within the reserve maintenance period following the notification of the suspension.

In exceptional cases, the Eurosystem may suspend a counterparty for a period of three months in respect of all future Eurosystem monetary policy operations in the case of any occasion of non-compliance with Article 154(1). In such a case, the Eurosystem shall have regard to the seriousness of the case and, in particular, to the amounts involved and to the frequency and duration of non-compliance.

Where the Eurosystem suspends a counterparty in accordance with Article 156(5), that suspension may also be applied to branches of that counterparty established in other Member States whose currency is the euro.

HAS ADOPTED THIS GUIDELINE: