Question
Could it be possible to give a definition of "external customers" mentioned in iii) of b) of Paragraph 1 of Article 96? Would an entity from the same banking group (in the case of an investment firm belonging to a banking group) be considered as an external customer?
Background on the question
Certain investment firms which are authorised to carry out only limited services and activities are not subject or may be exempted from certain capital or liquidity requirements. As such, Commission Delegated Regulation (UE) 2015/63 in its recital number 3 provides that those investment firms should therefore not fall within the scope of this regulation. We want to precise the definition of "external customers" to enhance the questionnaires being sent to investment firms during the ex-ante contribution exercise to the SRF.
Answer
Please note that as part of adjustments to the Single Rulebook Q&A process, agreed by the EBA and the European Commission, it has been decided to reject outstanding questions submitted before 1 January 2020, when the Q&A process was updated as part of the last ESAs Review. In particular, the question that you have submitted has now regrettably been rejected and will not be addressed.If you believe your question would still benefit from clarification, you are invited to resubmit your question, adapting it to reflect any legislative, regulatory or other relevant developments that may have occurred since the initial date of submission. The EBA will aim to address resubmitted questions as a matter of priority. When considering to resubmit, you are kindly requested to observe the updated admissibility criteria agreed in the context of the adjustment of the Q&A process, available in theAdditional background and guidance for asking questions. We hope for your understanding.For further information please refer to thepress releaseand the updatedQ&A page.