To continue to guarantee a secure, stable and well-managed banking and financial system, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) and the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) have again set the following thematic focuses for fulfilling their duties in banking supervision in 2025.
Resilience of the banking sector – Focus on credit and real estate risks
Two years of negative economic growth and the end of the low interest environment will again impact the banking sector in 2025. Geopolitical developments may amplify such effects. It is therefore necessary to also ensure that the resilience of the Austrian banking sectors built up over recent years is also secured in difficult times. Consequently, credit and real estate risks in particular are intended to be analysed precisely, and limited by way of suitable supervisory measures. Intensified on-site inspections should support this as required for banks with a particularly high exposure.
Digital transformation, cybersecurity and artificial Intelligence (AI)
The effects of AI applications on business models should be considered in greater detail and should flow into credit institutions’ risk assessment. A regular exchange should continue to be ensured with national AI authorities and credit institutions. The processes for the operational application of the new DORA and MiCAR frameworks should be further optimised.
Sustainability risks (ESG risks)
Sustainability risks should be integrated further into ongoing supervision, with a focus being set on proportionality. The regulatory changes regarding ESG from the CRR/CRD package should be integrated into ongoing supervision and the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP). In addition, the results of the “Fit for 55” climate stress test exercise should be analysed precisely and addressed accordingly.
Governance
The enforcement of governance requirements towards credit institutions will be strengthened further by clarifying supervisory requirements as well as cooperation in particular with bank auditors as well as in the area of prevention of money laundering. Cooperation should be intensified in relation to the prevention of money laundering, in particular by establishing contacts to the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).
The aforementioned priorities must be considered in conjunction with the Single Supervisory Mechanism’s (SSM) supervisory priorities for 2025 in terms of their content, and are in line with the objectives and the work programme of the European Banking Authority (EBA).
The joint priorities for banking supervision are defined and communicated annually for the following year by the OeNB and FMA.
Enquiries should be addressed to:
FMA
Boris Gröndahl
Phone: +43 (1) 249 59-6010
Mobile: +43 676 8824 9995
E-Mail: [email protected]
OeNB
Marlies Faulmann
Telefon: +43 (1) 404 20-6900
E-Mail: [email protected]