Date: 2026-03-12Category: Not ApplicableState: Union GovernmentCountry: Europe
Decision (EU) 2026/565 of the European Central Bank of 3 March 2026 nominating heads of work units to adopt delegated decisions regarding mergers, divisions and acquisitions of material holdings (ECB/2026/6)
**Executive Summary**
This decision establishes a framework for nominating heads of work units within the European Central Bank (ECB) to adopt delegated decisions concerning mergers, divisions, and acquisitions of material holdings. These delegated decisions are required to address the increased volume of supervisory tasks following amendments to Directive 2013/36/EU, effective from January 11, 2026. The decision entered into force on March 3, 2026, with its effective date being the fifth day after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Delegated Decisions on Mergers and Divisions**
* Delegated decisions concerning mergers and divisions involving significant supervised entities are to be adopted by the Director-General or Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General SSM Governance and Operations, or the Head of the Authorisation Division if unavailable.
* These individuals must also be accompanied by one of the following:
* Director-General or Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General Systemic and International Banks (if supervision lies with this directorate).
* Director-General or Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General Universal and Diversified Institutions (if supervision lies with this directorate).
* Director-General or Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General Specialised Institutions and Less Significant Institutions (if supervision lies with this directorate).
* If a delegated decision for mergers or divisions involves more than one significant supervised entity, the relevant entity will be the one resulting from the merger or the entity being divided.
**Delegated Decisions on Acquisitions of Material Holdings**
* Delegated decisions on acquisitions of material holdings, not connected to qualifying holdings in credit institutions and involving significant supervised entities, are adopted by one of the Director-Generals or Deputy Director-Generals of the Systemic and International Banks, Universal and Diversified Institutions, or Specialised Institutions and Less Significant Institutions directorates, depending on where supervision lies.
* If the delegated decision on acquisitions of material holdings is connected to a qualifying holding in a credit institution and involves significant supervised entities, it must also be adopted by the Director-General or Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General SSM Governance and Operations, or the Head of the Authorisation Division if unavailable.
* If a delegated decision on acquisitions involves more than one significant supervised entity, each of the supervised entities acquiring the material holding is considered the relevant entity.
**Entry into Force**
* This Decision enters into force on the fifth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
**Impact Analysis**
**Heads of Work Units within the ECB**
* **Impact:** They are designated as the individuals empowered to adopt specific delegated decisions concerning mergers, divisions, and acquisitions of material holdings.
* **Action Required:** They must be nominated by the Executive Board to assume these responsibilities.
**Directorate-General SSM Governance and Operations (and Head of Authorisation Division)**
* **Impact:** This unit plays a role in adopting delegated decisions for mergers, divisions, and acquisitions of material holdings, particularly for significant supervised entities and those related to qualifying holdings in credit institutions.
* **Action Required:** Personnel from this unit (Director-General, Deputy Director-General, or Head of Authorisation Division) will be nominated to exercise these delegated decision-making powers.
**Directorate-General Systemic and International Banks**
* **Impact:** Personnel from this directorate will adopt delegated decisions for mergers, divisions, and acquisitions of material holdings if the supervision of the relevant supervised entity falls under their remit.
* **Action Required:** The Director-General or Deputy Director-General of this unit will be nominated to participate in the adoption of these delegated decisions.
**Directorate-General Universal and Diversified Institutions**
* **Impact:** Personnel from this directorate will adopt delegated decisions for mergers, divisions, and acquisitions of material holdings if the supervision of the relevant supervised entity falls under their remit.
* **Action Required:** The Director-General or Deputy Director-General of this unit will be nominated to participate in the adoption of these delegated decisions.
**Directorate-General Specialised Institutions and Less Significant Institutions**
* **Impact:** Personnel from this directorate will adopt delegated decisions for mergers, divisions, and acquisitions of material holdings if the supervision of the relevant supervised entity falls under their remit.
* **Action Required:** The Director-General or Deputy Director-General of this unit will be nominated to participate in the adoption of these delegated decisions.
**Supervised Entities (especially significant supervised entities)**
* **Impact:** They are directly affected by the delegated decisions concerning mergers, divisions, and acquisitions of material holdings, as these decisions will pertain to their operations.
* **Action Required:** No direct action is specified for them in this document, but they will be subject to the outcomes of the delegated decisions.
Key Entities Referenced
DECISION (EU) 2026/565 OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK: The primary legal act being presented, which nominates heads of work units for delegated decisions.
Decision (EU) 2026/564: A referenced decision from the ECB that grants the power to adopt decisions regarding mergers, divisions, and acquisitions of material holdings.
Directive 2013/36/EU: A foundational EU directive that grants supervisory powers to supervisors of credit institutions, relevant to the decision's scope.
European Central Bank (ECB): The issuing authority and primary subject of the policy, responsible for supervisory tasks and delegated decisions.
Regulation (EU) No 468/2014: The SSM Framework Regulation that defines significant supervised entities, crucial for determining the applicability of the decision.
Official Journal EN
of the European Union L series
2026/565 12.3.2026
DECISION(EU) 2026/565 OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
of 3 March 2026
nominating heads of work units to adopt delegated decisions regarding mergers, divisions and
acquisitions of material holdings (ECB/2026/6)
THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular
Article 11.6 thereof,
Having regard to Decision (EU) 2017/933 of the European Central Bank of 16 November 2016 on a general framework for
delegating decision-making powers for legal instruments related to supervisory tasks (ECB/2016/40)(1), and in particular
Articles 4 and 5 thereof,
Having regard to Decision (EU) 2026/564 of the European Central Bank of 13 February 2026 on the delegation of the
power to adopt decisions regarding mergers, divisions and acquisitions of material holdings (ECB/2026/5)(2), and in
particular Article 3 thereof,
Having regard to Decision ECB/2004/2 of the European Central Bank of 19 February 2004 adopting the Rules of Procedure
of the European Central Bank(3), and in particular Article 10 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Pursuant to amendments to Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(4) that were
introduced by Directive (EU) 2024/1619 of the European Parliament and Council(5), supervisors of credit
institutions have at their disposal all the supervisory powers enabling them to cover the material operations that can
be undertaken by the supervised entities. The European Central Bank (ECB) therefore has the power to take decisions
in exercise of supervisory powers granted pursuant to Directive 2013/36/EU in cases of mergers, divisions or
acquisitions of material holdings involving significant supervised entities.
(2) To address the considerable number of decisions that the ECB is to adopt for the performance of its supervisory tasks,
a procedure for the adoption of specific delegated decisions has been established.
(3) A delegation decision is effective upon the adoption of a decision by the Executive Board nominating one or more
heads of work units to take decisions on the basis of a delegation decision.
(4) The importance of the delegation decision and the number of addressees to whom delegated decisions need to be sent
should be taken into account by the Executive Board in nominating heads of work units.
(5) Article 10.1 of Decision ECB/2004/2 provides that the Executive Board is to decide upon the number, name and
respective competence of each of the work units of the ECB.
(6) The Chair of the Supervisory Board has been consulted on the heads of work units to whom the power to adopt
delegated decisions regarding supervisory powers granted in respect of mergers, divisions and acquisitions of
material holdings involving at least one significant supervised entity should be delegated.
(7) As the amendments concerning the relevant supervisory powers introduced to Directive 2013/36/EU took effect
from 11 January 2026, it is appropriate that decisions in exercise of those supervisory powers be delegated in
accordance with this decision as soon as possible after that date,
(1) OJ L 141, 1.6.2017, p. 14, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2017/933/oj.
(2) OJ L, 2026/564, 12.3.2026, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/564/oj.
(3) OJ L 80, 18.3.2004, p. 33, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2004/257/oj.
(4) OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 338, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2013/36/oj.
(5) Directive (EU) 2024/1619 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 amending Directive 2013/36/EU as regards
supervisory powers, sanctions, third-country branches, and environmental, social and governance risks (OJ L, 2024/1619, 19.6.2024,
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1619/oj).
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/565/oj 1/3EN
OJ L, 12.3.2026
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Delegated decisions on mergers and divisions
1. Delegated decisions pursuant to Article 4 (in respect of mergers) and Article 5 (in respect of divisions) of Decision
(EU) 2026/564 (ECB/2026/5) that involve significant supervised entities as defined in Article 2, point (16), of Regulation
(EU) No 468/2014 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/17)(6) shall be adopted by the Director-General or the
Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General SSM Governance and Operations – or if they are unavailable, the Head
of the Authorisation Division – and one of the following heads of work units:
(a) the Director-General or a Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General Systemic and International Banks, if
supervision of the relevant supervised entity or group is carried out by the Directorate-General Systemic and
International Banks;
(b) the Director-General or a Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General Universal and Diversified Institutions, if
supervision of the relevant supervised entity or group is carried out by the Directorate-General Universal and
Diversified Institutions;
(c) the Director-General or a Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General Specialised Institutions and Less
Significant Institutions, if supervision of the relevant supervised entity or group is carried out by the Directorate-
General Specialised Institutions and Less Significant Institutions.
2. If a delegated decision pursuant to Article 4 (in respect of mergers) and Article 5 (in respect of divisions) of Decision
(EU) 2026/564 (ECB/2026/5) involves more than one significant supervised entity, the relevant supervised entity shall be
the supervised entity resulting from the proposed operation in case of a merger, or the entity being divided in case of a
division.
Article 2
Delegated decisions on acquisitions of material holdings
1. Delegated decisions pursuant to Article 6 of Decision (EU) 2026/564 (ECB/2026/5) that are not connected to a
qualifying holding in a credit institution as referred to in Article 22(1) of Directive 2013/36/EU and that involve
significant supervised entities as defined in Article 2, point (16), of Regulation (EU) No 468/2014 shall be adopted by one
of the following heads of work units:
(a) the Director-General or a Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General Systemic and International Banks, if
supervision of the relevant supervised entity or group is carried out by the Directorate-General Systemic and
International Banks;
(b) the Director-General or a Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General Universal and Diversified Institutions, if
supervision of the relevant supervised entity or group is carried out by the Directorate-General Universal and
Diversified Institutions;
(c) the Director-General or a Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General Specialised Institutions and Less
Significant Institutions, if supervision of the relevant supervised entity or group is carried out by the Directorate-
General Specialised Institutions and Less Significant Institutions.
2. Delegated decisions pursuant to Article 6 of Decision (EU) 2026/564 (ECB/2026/5) that are connected to a qualifying
holding in a credit institution as referred to in Article 22(1) of Directive 2013/36/EU and that involve significant supervised
entities as defined in Article 2, point (16), of Regulation (EU) No 468/2014 shall, in addition to the heads of work units
referred to in paragraph 1, be adopted by the Director-General or the Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General
SSM Governance and Operations, or if they are unavailable, the Head of the Authorisation Division.
(6) Regulation (EU) No 468/2014 of the European Central Bank of 16 April 2014 establishing the framework for cooperation within the
Single Supervisory Mechanism between the European Central Bank and national competent authorities and with national designated
authorities (SSM Framework Regulation) (ECB/2014/17) (OJ L 141, 14.5.2014, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/468/oj).
2/3 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/565/ojEN
OJ L, 12.3.2026
3. If a delegated decision pursuant to Article 6 of Decision (EU) 2026/564 (ECB/2026/5) involves more than one
significant supervised entity, the relevant supervised entity shall be each of the supervised entities acquiring the material
holding.
Article 3
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the fifth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.
Done at Frankfurt am Main, 3 March 2026.
The President of the ECB
Christine LAGARDE
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/565/oj 3/3