Fee factors
Fee factors are data about a supervised bank or banking group used to calculate the annual supervisory fee.
The annual supervisory fee payable by each supervised bank or banking group is determined by allocating the total annual costs for each category – significant or less significant – to the individual banks and banking groups on the basis of their "fee factors".
The fee factors refer to a bank's size and risk profile, including risk-weighted assets, which are measured by the total value of assets and the total risk exposure respectively. In the case of banking groups, they are calculated at the highest level of consolidation and receive equal weight.
ECB Regulation on supervisory fees
ECB Decision on fee factors
When calculating the annual supervisory fee of banks or banking groups that are classified as less significant owing to "particular circumstances", total assets are capped at €30 billion, i.e. the threshold specified for the size criterion used for assessing significance.
SSM Regulation: Article 6(4)
SSM Framework Regulation: Articles 70 and 71
The sum of total assets and the sum of total risk exposure per category are published on the ECB's website.
The majority of fee debtors are not required to submit separate templates for the collection of fee factors, as the ECB will reuse financial reporting (FINREP) and common reporting (COREP) supervisory data reported via national competent authorities.
Two categories of banks must still provide their fee factors via a separate collection process: (i) groups that exclude assets and/or risk exposure amounts of subsidiaries in non-participating Member States; and (ii) branches established in participating Member States by credit institutions from non-participating Member States which are not subject to the ECB's FINREP Regulation.
Notification of intention to exclude assets and/or risk exposure amount of non-SSM subsidiaries for supervised groups
In order to ensure a smooth collection process, it is necessary to establish which groups with subsidiaries established in non-participating Member States or third countries intend to exclude the related assets and/or risk exposure amounts from their fee factors.
In order to notify the ECB of the intention to exclude assets, risk exposure amounts or both, an online process has been established which enables fee debtors to submit a notification, via the online portal account, to the ECB by 30 September of the year concerned, so that the ECB and NCAs know whether or not to expect fee factors data from the group via the separate collection process described below.
If no such notification is received, it will be assumed that the group does not wish to deduct the contribution of non-SSM subsidiaries, and FINREP/COREP data available at the ECB will be reused.
Submitting the fee factors for the two categories that have to submit them
Fee debtors have to submit annual fee factors to their national competent authority by 11 November, or by the next business day if 11 November is not a business day.
The reference date is 31 December of the preceding year, except where:
a supervised entity or group prepares annual accounts, including consolidated annual accounts, based on an accounting year which deviates from the calendar year, in which case the reference date for the fee factors shall be the accounting year-end that falls within the preceding fee period; or
a supervised entity or group is established after the relevant reference date specified in the above two cases but before 1 October of the fee period, and consequently no fee factors with that reference date exist, in which case the reference date for the fee factors shall be the quarter-end closest to the relevant reference date specified in the above two cases
Instructions for completing the fee factor templates
Fee factor template - Total risk exposure (TRE)
Fee factor template - Total assets (TA)
Template for management letter
Commenting period on fee factors for all entities
The ECB will publish fee factors data for all entities at the latest by 15 January of the subsequent fee period. Fee debtors will then have 15 working days to submit any comments and/or amended data. Thereafter, the fee factors will be used in the calculation of the individual supervisory fees. Fee debtors will be notified when the fee factors data are available for comment using the contact details provided to the ECB.
If a fee debtor fails to provide the fee factors data, or if a fee factor is not available to the ECB or the fee debtor has not submitted revised data or modifications or corrections of the data on time, the ECB shall use the information available to it to determine the missing fee factors. Non-provision of fee factors is considered a breach of the ECB Regulation on supervisory fees and may trigger sanctions.
It should be noted that FINREP and COREP data, which are the basis for determining the fee factors, can be changed retrospectively. However, for feeing purposes, once data have been used for the calculation of the supervisory fee for a fee period, future amendments will not be taken into account and no recalculations of supervisory fees will take place.