Regulatory reporting
Also called supervisory reporting, regulatory returns
Regulatory reporting is the submission of data by regulated firms to their supervisors on a fixed schedule. It covers capital, liquidity, large exposures, financial statements, trades and conduct. Regulators use the returns to monitor each firm's safety and the stability of the wider financial system.
How it works
A bank pulls data from its ledgers, risk systems and trading platforms, applies the regulator's definitions and fills standard templates. Returns go through reconciliations and sign-off before submission on set dates, often monthly or quarterly. Trade and transaction reports are sent daily. Most regimes use structured formats such as XBRL so regulators can process the data automatically.
Reporting matters because errors are treated as control failures. Regulators have fined firms for inaccurate or late transaction and capital reports. Senior managers in the UK are personally accountable for the areas they oversee. Supervisors are moving towards more granular data and machine-readable rules, which raises the bar for data quality and lineage.
The rules
Institutions must report own funds, capital requirements, large exposures, leverage, liquidity and financial information to competent authorities using EBA templates.
EU credit institutions and investment firms under CRRFirms must report complete and accurate details of transactions to the competent authority no later than the close of the following working day.
Investment firms executing transactions in financial instrumentsBanks must be able to aggregate risk data accurately, completely and quickly, and produce reliable risk reports in normal and stressed conditions.
Globally systemically important banks, with national authorities extending it to domestic banksCommon questions
What are COREP and FINREP?
COREP is the common reporting framework for capital and related prudential data. FINREP covers financial information. Both are set by the European Banking Authority for EU banks and investment firms under the CRR, and the UK uses its own versions maintained by the PRA.
How often do firms submit regulatory reports?
It depends on the return. Transaction reports are daily. Liquidity returns are often monthly. Capital and financial returns are usually quarterly, with some annual returns. Smaller firms may report less often under proportionality rules.
What happens if a regulatory report is wrong?
Firms are expected to correct errors and notify the regulator promptly. Material or repeated errors can lead to supervisory action, a skilled person review or fines. Regulators treat inaccurate reporting as a sign of weak systems and controls.
What is digital regulatory reporting?
It is an approach in which regulators publish reporting rules in machine-readable form so firms can process them automatically. The aim is to cut interpretation errors and cost. The Bank of England and the EBA are both working on more integrated, granular data collection.
