BaFin publishes FAQs on the German Remuneration Ordinance for Institutions

On 13 June 2024, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) published the final version of the Questions and Answers (FAQs) on the German Remuneration Ordinance for Institutions, after BaFin had published a draft version (Draft FAQs) for consultation on 21 June 2023 (see our blog post from 23 June 2023 Questions and answers on the German Remuneration Ordinance for Institutions | Linklaters). The FAQs are intended to replace the Interpretation Guide (Auslegungshilfe) published by BaFin in 2018. In contrast to the Draft FAQs, the preliminary remarks of the final FAQs no longer contain the note that the previous Interpretation Guide continues to correspond to BaFin's administrative practice insofar as it is not updated by the FAQs. Consequently, this publication of the final FAQs is no longer merely a supplement to the Interpretation Guide, but a replacement, so that in addition to the FAQs, (only) the guidelines of the European Banking Authority (EBA) on Sound Remuneration Policies under Directive 2013/36/EU (EBA/GL/2021/04), which have been adopted into BaFin's administrative practice, serve as regulatory guidance insofar as the FAQs do not modify their content.

The following article highlights the key aspects of the FAQs and the most important differences to the Draft FAQs.