Policy field(s)

Justice and fundamental rights, company law

Who can reply to this consultation?

All citizens, organisations and public authorities are welcome to contribute to this consultation

Period of consultation

From 22 October 2015 until 14 January 2016

Purpose of the consultation

These implement international principles and standards at Union level. They aim at aligning remuneration policies with the risk appetite, values and long-term interest of credit institutions and investment firms, in order to remedy regulatory loopholes, which induced a number of managers, especially before the financial crisis, to an excessive risk-taking approach. In CRD, rules on remuneration are set out in Articles 74 to 76, Articles 92 to 96, Article 104, Article 109, Article 162(3) and in recitals 62 to 69. In CRR, Article 450 and recital 97 cover rules on remuneration.

One of the novelties in CRD IV was the introduction of a rule according to which the variable remuneration of institutions’ staff whose professional activities have a material impact on their employer's risk profile cannot exceed 100% (or 200% with shareholders' approval) of the fixed remuneration ("the "Maximum Ratio Rule"). This Maximum Ratio Rule is meant to avoid excessive risk taking, learning the lesson of the financial crisis, when regulatory loopholes in this field were at the origin of huge losses for financial institutions and ultimately for investors. You can find further details on this rule in Article 94(1)(g) of CRD IV and in the Consultation Paper that was recently published by the European Banking Authority ("EBA") on the draft revised guidelines on remuneration, while the RTS on Identified Staff sets the criteria which institutions must use to identify the staff to whom the Maximum Ratio Rule applies.

The Commission is called upon to review and report on the application and the impact of the remuneration rules in CRD IV by 30 June 2016.

The purpose of this consultation is firstly to obtain information and views from stakeholders on paragraph (b) of Article 161(2) CRD IV, namely on the possible impact of the Maximum Ratio Rule on: (i) competitiveness, (ii) financial stability, and (iii) staff in non-EEA countries. Secondly, it seeks stakeholders' views on the overall efficiency of the remuneration provisions of CRD and CRR.

The responses will be taken into account in the Commission’s assessment and report required under Article 161(2) CRD, in parallel with information received from EBA, the results of an external study carried out for the Commission and other information available.

How to submit your contribution

You can contribute to this public consultation by filling out the online QUESTIONNAIRE on the EU survey website.

In the interest of transparency, the Commission asks organisations that wish to submit comments in the context of public consultations to provide the Commission and the public at large with information about whom and what they represent by registering in the TRANSPARENCY REGISTER and subscribing to its CODE OF CONDUCT . If an organisation decides not to provide this information, it is the Commission's stated policy to list the contribution as part of the individual contributions. (Consultation Standards, see COM (2002) 704 , and Communication on ETI Follow-up, see COM (2007) 127 of 21/03/2007 ).

If you are a registered organisation, please indicate your Register ID number when replying to the online questionnaire. Your contribution will then be considered as representative of the views of your organisation.

If your organisation is not registered, you have the opportunity to REGISTER NOW. Then you can return to this page and submit your contribution as a registered organisation.

The Contributions received will be published on the Internet. It is important to read the specific privacy statement for information on how your personal data and contribution will be used.

Responses

See under this link.

Contact details

Responsible service: European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Company Law Unit (JUST.A.3)

E-mail: JUST-A3@ec.europa.eu

Data Protection Disclaimer

Received contributions, together with the identity of the contributor, will be published on the Internet, unless the contributor objects to publication of the personal data on the grounds that such publication would harm his or her legitimate interests. In this case the contribution may be published in anonymous form. Otherwise the contribution will not be published nor will, in principle, its content be taken into account.