The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published an Opinion on 8 July 2026 advising national competent authorities to allow banks to voluntarily use IFRS 18-aligned FINREP templates during the interim period between the first application of the new accounting standard and the mandatory application of amended supervisory reporting rules. The guidance aims to reduce the operational burden of maintaining two different profit or loss formats and to maintain consistency between supervisory financial reporting and IFRS requirements.
IFRS 18, which replaces IAS 1, was endorsed in the EU in February 2026 and will apply to institutions' financial statements from 1 January 2027. However, the amended Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on FINREP that incorporate IFRS 18 are expected to apply only from the end of September 2027, creating a nine-month gap. To bridge this, the EBA recommends that competent authorities permit institutions to use a set of IFRS 18-aligned FINREP templates voluntarily during the interim period. These templates were developed as part of the draft amended ITS and reflect feedback from a public consultation that ended on 10 May 2026.
The Opinion is issued under Article 29(1)(a) of the EBA Regulation, supporting the EBA's tasks of monitoring market developments and fostering a common supervisory culture. The revised templates will be included in the technical package for supervisory reporting version 4.4 (Phase 1), which sets out the Data Point Model, validation rules, and XBRL Taxonomy. The final version of the package is planned for publication in July 2026 or by September 2026 at the latest. The templates will become part of the final draft amended ITS on FINREP, which the EBA expects to submit to the European Commission by the end of 2026, with mandatory application currently expected from the end of September 2027.
The guidance primarily impacts EU banks and other credit institutions, which will face the choice of adopting the new templates early or maintaining dual reporting. For institutions that opt for early adoption, the EBA's approach reduces compliance costs and streamlines reporting during the transition. However, those that choose not to adopt early may face additional complexity in reconciling their public financial statements with supervisory returns. National competent authorities are affected as they must decide whether to allow the voluntary use of the templates. The EBA itself benefits from a smoother implementation of the new standard, supporting its goal of simplifying the EU supervisory reporting framework.
The EBA has also published a Final Report on draft ITS on the implementation of IFRS 18 in FINREP, along with annexes containing the templates and instructions in clean and track-changes versions. The consultation on the remaining ITS amendments is open until 10 July 2026.