CP01 29th April 2004

Draft Public Statement of Consultation Practices 

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors was established as of 1 January 2004 by a decision of the EU Commission (2004/5/EC). Its tasks include advising the Commission on banking regulation, promoting the consistent application of EU directives and the convergence of supervisory practices throughout the Community, and enhancing supervisory cooperation. The Committee will consult extensively and in an open and transparent manner with market participants, consumers and end-users of banking services. 

The aims of consultation are to benefit from the expertise of market participants, consumers and end-users in identifying, assessing and analysing regulatory issues and possible solutions, to promote understanding of the Committee's work and its role and, ultimately, to build consensus where possible between all interested and affected parties on what regulation or supervisory practice is appropriate. To deliver these aims, a flexible and proportionate approach to consultation that can be adapted according to the significance of an issue is required. The Committee's proposed consultation practices are set out below.

Who is consulted

1. The Committee will generally:

i) Target the full range of interested parties, including market participants, consumers and end-users;

ii) Make consultation proposals widely known and available through appropriate means, in particular the Internet;

iii) Consult at national, European and international levels.

2. Reflecting the need for flexibility, when technical aspects of prudential supervision are addressed, the Committee may choose to target its consultation at market participants only. Such targeted consultations will always be followed by the publication of the Committee's final decision on the same topic.

3. The Committee will publish an annual work programme indicating which parties it intends to consult on each area of anticipated work. If a request to be consulted on a particular area is subsequently received from any other party, this request will be granted if it fits in with the time schedule foreseen in the work programme.

Areas of consultation

4. The Committee will consult on all its work in the area of advising the Commission on draft implementing measures in the field of banking supervision.

5. Where relevant, the Committee will consult on its work in the areas of

i) the consistent application of Community directives;

ii) the convergence of Member States' supervisory practices. 

6. In principle, the Committee will not consult on its work in the area of enhancing supervisory cooperation, including the exchange of information on individual supervised institutions.

Modes of consultation

7. The Committee will:

i) Provide an opportunity for interested parties to make submissions on receipt and publication by the Committee of a mandate from the European Commission;

ii) Produce reasoned consultative proposals, reflecting all relevant aspects of the issues at stake;

iii) Include in proposals preliminary information on their impact whenever possible;

iv) When necessary, release its thinking at various stages, including via releases of draft papers;

v) Establish consultative groups of experts where appropriate;

vi) Use a variety of means, including Internet and written consultations, public hearings and roundtables, and, if necessary to deepen the Committee's understanding, bilateral meetings with affected parties.

Timing of consultation

8. The Committee will:

i) Publish any mandate received from the European Commission as soon as practical after receipt;

ii) Organise upon request informal discussions at an early stage with those most likely to be directly affected;

iii) Consult at a sufficiently early stage to enable the Committee to take the responses into account;

iv) Allow those consulted adequate time to respond, given the complexity of the issue and the time available. For significant issues, the Committee will aim to allow a three-month consultation period.


Follow-up to consultations

9. The Committee will:

i) Give due consideration to responses received;

ii) Make public all responses to any of its consultations, unless the respondent requests otherwise, or make public a summary of the responses received;

iii) Publish a reasoned explanation addressing all major points raised;

iv) Consult for a second time if the response to the first consultation reveals significant problems, or if revised proposals are radically different from the original proposals on which consultation was based;

v) Publish all formal proposals and all advice given to the European Commission.


Final provisions

10. If it is not possible for the Committee to follow the principles described above, the Committee will publicly explain its reasons.

11. When necessary, the Committee will review this statement of consultation practices. 

Consultation process :

CEBS highly welcomes comments from interested parties on the draft Public Statement on Consultation Practices. Please send your comments to CEBS, by email ( CP01@c-ebs.org ), by 31 July 2004. CEBS will make all comments available on its website (except where respondents specifically request that their comments remain confidential).