Yes. Under Article 429a(1)(n) of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), as last amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/873 (CRR ”quick fix”), under certain conditions, certain exposures to central banks can be excluded from the calculation of the leverage ratio. BaFin is hereby allowing the institutions under its direct supervision to make use of this temporary relief measure. The following exposures to the central banks of the Eurosystem may, on a temporary basis, be excluded from the total exposure measure in the calculation of the leverage ratio:

a) Coins and banknotes in EUR;
b) Assets representing claims on central banks of the Eurosystem in connection with the implementation of monetary policies, i.e. exposures in connection with deposits held in the deposit facility in addition to deposits held in the reserve accounts of the central bank, including deposits held in order to meet minimum reserve requirements.

Exposures to the central bank that are not related to the implementation of monetary policies may not be excluded.

In making use of this relief measure, institutions must observe the additional stipulations under Article 429a of the CRR. In particular, institutions must satisfy an adjusted leverage ratio requirement. This exception serves to facilitate the implementation of monetary policies. Therefore, BaFin hereby publicly declares, after consultation with the European Central Bank, that exceptional circumstances exist that warrant this exclusion. Furthermore, BaFin declares that the exceptional circumstances have existed since 31 December 2019.

This measure applies from 28 June 2021 until 31 March 2022. A separate application is not necessary. In the interests of maintaining a level playing field within the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), this relief measure corresponds to the equivalent measure introduced by the ECB for significant institutions (SIs). The definitions of the terms “Eurosystem”, “deposit facility”, “reserve account” and “minimum reserve requirements” are based on the corresponding ECB decision ECB/2020/44.