The European Banking Authority (EBA) published a preliminary assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the EU banking sector. With the global economy facing unprecedented challenges, banks entered the health crisis with strong capital and liquidity buffers and managed the pressure on operational capacities activating their contingency plans.
The crisis is expected to affect asset quality and, thus, the profitability of banks going forward. Nonetheless, the capital accumulated by banks during the past years along with the capital relief provided by regulators amounts on average to 5p.p. above their overall capital requirements (OCR). This capital buffer should allow banks to withstand the potential credit risk losses derived from a sensitivity analysis based on the 2018 stress test.
Read the assessment.