CRD6 – Article 21c and its impact for third country banks and the international finance sector

Article 21c of the Capital Requirements Directive (“CRD”), as inserted by the sixth Capital Requirements Directive (“CRD6” or “CRD VI”), will impose new restrictions on third country undertakings intending to provide “core banking services” within an EU Member State. Under the new rules, such undertakings will be required to establish a regulated branch in the EU (a “third country branch” or “TCB”), unless an exemption applies.

EU Member States must transpose the Article 21c third country branch requirement into their national laws by 10 January 2026, with the rules taking effect from 11 January 2027. The grandfathering exemption for acquired rights will apply to contracts entered into before 11 July 2026. To help you prepare, we have set out further detail on the third country branch requirement, together with our commentary on emerging issues and suggested next steps for potentially affected firms. Click here to access our brochure and ensure your firm is ready for the new rules.

We are currently assisting various types of firms with CRD6 implementation projects and related queries and are actively monitoring the implementation of CRD6, including in the various EU jurisdictions in which we operate. If you would like to discuss how the third country branch requirement may affect your business, emerging markets responses and/or how we can assist you in tracking transposition, please get in touch with the key contacts listed or your usual contacts at CMS, who would be happy to discuss these considerations in more detail. If you would like to receive the most recent summary version of our transposition tracker, please let us know.