The European Banking Authority's Strategic Priorities for 2026

Alongside these traditional priorities, the EBA will expand its oversight and supervisory functions in light of new responsibilities related to third-party providers, issuers of crypto-assets and the use of initial margin models.

To guide this work, the EBA has identified three strategic priorities for the year ahead.

Priority 1: Strengthening the Single Rulebook

• The EBA will focus on developing and implementing a fit-for-purpose Single Rulebook to support an efficient, resilient and sustainable financial services market across the EU. This includes shifting the emphasis from ex-ante harmonisation to ex-post convergence, in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Efficiency.
• Efforts will be made to simplify and enhance the efficiency of prudential rules, reduce reporting costs and improve proportionality through a review of SREP Guidelines and a holistic assessment of the EU regulatory framework.
• Work will continue the EU Banking Package, with mandates covering credit and operational risk, governance, third-country branches and prudential assessments of institutional changes.
• The EBA will also prepare for revisions to the securitisation framework, including synthetic securitisations and contribute to monitoring and reporting efforts.

Priority 2: Enhancing risk management and supervisory capabilities

• The EBA will strengthen its risk assessment capabilities through regular and ad hoc analyses, while expanding its supervisory roles under DORA, MiCA and EMIR. This includes overseeing critical ICT third-party providers, crypto-asset issuers and validating initial margin models.
• Preparations for the 2027 EU-wide stress test will focus on streamlining bottom-up methodologies, integrating climate and Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI) risks, and developing top-down credit risk models.
• The EBA will monitor geopolitical, trade and climate-related risks, as well as the interconnectedness between banks and NBFIs. Outreach will be supported through dashboards and risk reports.
• Under DORA, joint oversight of critical third-party providers will intensify, including thematic reviews and inspections. MiCA supervision will involve significant assessments of EMTs and ARTs, with potential direct supervisory actions.
• A major push will be made to reduce reporting costs by 25%, through harmonised, integrated, and proportionate supervisory and resolution reporting frameworks. This includes revising reporting components, improving change management, and developing a public EU-wide data request repository.

Priority 3: Supporting technological innovation and consumer protection

• The EBA aims to enhance technological capacity across the financial sector, with a strong emphasis on consumer protection. It will monitor innovation and contribute to EU initiatives like the AI Act and Digital Finance Strategy, focusing on AI/ML, crypto-assets and distributed ledger technology and value chain evolution.
• Implementation of the AI Act will progress through sectoral mapping and the assessment of implications for the financial sector. The EBA will also analyse general-purpose AI (GPAI) use cases and third-party dependencies to support supervisory work.
• The EBA will monitor DeFi’s role in accessing EMTs and ARTs, the use of commercial bank-issued tokens and big tech’s influence in EU finance.
• It will evaluate progress in cross-border supervision of retail financial services, update its repository of financial education initiatives and refine retail risk indicators to guide future priorities.
• The EBA will publish data on payment fraud to assess the effectiveness of its security requirements and support a coordinated EU-wide fraud reduction effort.
• Finally, it will continue efforts to improve consumer understanding of digital financial products, especially through clearer disclosures in white-labelled services.

What does this mean for you?

For regulated entities, the EBA's priorities should serve as a roadmap for shaping their internal compliance and risk strategies. Taking a forward-looking approach now will help avoid the rush to meet new requirements later. Institutions should evaluate their current position against the EBA's strategic goals, identify any gaps and develop a structured plan to address them. Early engagement with these priorities will support smoother compliance and greater operational resilience in the long term.

How can we help?

At Forvis Mazars, our Prudential Risk experts understand that regulation continues to shape the strategic priorities of financial institutions. We help clients in the financial services sector navigate complex regulatory frameworks, clarify their obligations and build effective compliance strategies.