The EBA Single Rulebook is the European Banking Authority’s framework aimed at creating a unified set of prudential rules that all banks in the EU must follow. By harmonising key rules, from capital requirements to liquidity standards, the Single Rulebook seeks to ensure consistency, transparency, and competitiveness across the European Union’s banking sector

Why The Single Rulebook Matters

Financial regulation in the EU has historically been a patchwork of Directives, which require member states to transpose rules into national law. This approach has allowed significant divergences in implementation, creating legal uncertainty, regulatory arbitrage, and uneven competitive conditions.

The EBA is mandated to produce Binding Technical Standards (BTS)

… “legal acts … always finally adopted by the European Commission by means of regulations or decisions. At that point they become legally binding and directly applicable in all Member States.”

Key Features & Requirements Under Single Rulebook

The Single Rulebook sets out a common regulatory foundation for all financial institutions operating within the EU, ensuring that prudential standards are applied consistently regardless of a firm’s size or location. Its purpose is to eliminate national divergences that could undermine financial stability or create unfair competitive advantages. By defining how capital, liquidity, and supervisory rules should be applied across the bloc, the Single Rulebook enables regulators and firms to operate within a predictable, harmonised framework.

This section outlines the core features of the regime and the requirements that underpin its uniform application.

• Uniform prudential rules: Basel III implementation across the EU via consistent rules on capital ratios, liquidity, and leverage.

• Binding Technical Standards (BTS): These are legal acts specifying how certain legislative requirements (e.g. CRD, CRR, BRRD) should be interpreted and applied to ensure consistency. Member States must implement them exactly.

• Supervisory convergence: EBA monitors how national authorities apply the rules, conducts peer reviews, publishes Q&As, and seeks to close gaps in supervision.

Compliance Implications For Financial Institutions

For banks operating in multiple EU markets, the Single Rulebook raises the bar in terms of compliance infrastructure:

• KYC and AML alignment: Consistent customer due diligence (CDD) and watchlist transmission standards will be more uniformly enforced.

• Risk management and reporting: Same definition of regulatory aggregates and harmonised methodologies for computing capital ratios or liquidity needs.

• Governance and board accountability: Institutions will need robust internal governance structures to ensure uniform compliance across jurisdictions.

Internal solutions like FacctList, Watchlist Management help in aligning watchlist management with unified standards; tools like FacctShield, Payment Screening support consistent payment screening across EU borders.

Challenges And Flexibilities

The Single Rulebook also includes flexibilities to reflect economic and structural differences across member states:

• Macro-prudential tools: Member States retain leeway to impose higher capital buffers in response to specific local risks (e.g. real estate bubbles).

• National “pillar 2” powers: Supervisors can demand additional capital or measures beyond the baseline when firms’ risk profiles warrant it.

Still, divergence risks remain: delays in implementing BTS, national differences in supervisory interpretation, and resource constraints in smaller member states.

Preparing For The Single Rulebook Era

The EBA Single Rulebook is more than a technical exercise. It is a structural shift in how financial institutions across the EU must approach compliance. The pressure is now on firms to standardise their AML, and reporting frameworks in line with harmonised expectations, while keeping enough agility to adapt to local supervisory add-ons.

At Facctum, we help financial institutions strengthen their compliance infrastructure to meet rising regulatory standards. From watchlist management with FacctList, to payment screening with FacctShield, to alert adjudication, our solutions are built to scale with evolving EU and global requirements.

👉 Ready to future-proof your compliance under the Single Rulebook?