Under section 12 (1) of the SAG, all institutions as defined in section 2 (1) of the SAG must prepare a recovery plan unless they have been granted an exemption in accordance with section 20 (1) of the SAG. Based on the provisions in section 12 (2) of the SAG regarding institutions that belong to a group, the obligation to prepare the recovery plan lies with the superordinated undertaking (section 10a (1) sentence 2 of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG)). In accordance with section 12 (3) of the SAG, the institutions subject to the obligation must present their recovery plan to the competent supervisory authority upon request. The supervisor for less significant institutions (LSIs) in Germany is the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) as defined in section 3 (2) of the SAG in conjunction with section 1 (5) of the KWG.

The recovery plan requirements are largely derived from sections 12 to 18 of the SAG and from Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1075 of 23 March 2016 supplementing Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards (Delegated Regulation 2016/1075).

Subject to the provisions in section 19 (2) of the SAG, BaFin may, in coordination with the Deutsche Bundesbank, define simplified requirements in relation to the recovery plans. In practice, potentially systemically important institutions within the meaning of section 12 of the KWG are identified based on a method jointly developed by BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank. These institutions are not subject to the simplified requirements and must therefore prepare a recovery plan based on the full requirements.

For all other institutions, BaFin may also, in coordination with the Deutsche Bundesbank, simplify the requirements under sections 12 to 18 of the SAG. In agreement with the Deutsche Bundesbank and on the basis of section 21a of the SAG in conjunction with section 1c of the German regulation on the delegation of powers to the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority to issue regulations (Verordnung zur Übertragung von Befugnissen zum Erlass von Rechtsverordnungen auf die Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFinBefugV), BaFin has therefore issued a regulation on the minimum requirements for recovery plans for institutions (Sanierungsplanmindestanforderungsverordnung – MaSanV) in order to essentially set out specific provisions for recovery plans based on the simplified requirements.

If an institution is instructed to prepare a recovery plan based on the simplified requirements under section 19 of the SAG with reference to sections 10 et seq. of the MaSanV and submit it using the MVP Portal, the institution is not required to provide a full, text-based recovery plan. Instead, the institution should use the Excel form template provided (“Sanierungsplan nach vereinfachten Anforderungen gemäß § 19 SAG” – only available in German) to prepare and submit the recovery plan in line with the simplified requirements. This template makes it easier for institutions to provide the necessary information in accordance with the simplified requirements. In such cases, the institution’s recovery plan comprises both the fully completed form and the required annexes. There is no need to provide further explanations or additional documents. The tables in the form cover the main areas of relevance for the institutions authorised to apply the simplified requirements in their recovery planning and allow the information provided by these institutions to be structured in the same way. The description of the contents required in the form template make it clear to the institutions which information must be provided for a recovery plan based on the simplified requirements. At the same time, the template’s modular design enables BaFin to take into account features that are specific to the institutions, such as size, business model, risk profile etc. The template is suitable for preparing both individual recovery plans under section 12 (1) of the SAG and group recovery plans under section 12 (2) of the SAG in conjunction with section 14 of the SAG.

Institutions can access the “Sanierungsplan nach vereinfachten Anforderungen gemäß § 19 SAG” form template via BaFin’s MVP Portal. To use the MVP Portal, institutions must first register and then have their accounts activated for the “Recovery plans under the simplified requirements under section 19 of the SAG” specialised procedure. You can find more detailed information in the MVP Portal user manual linked below (only available in German) and on the BaFin website.

The guidance that has also been provided (“Leitfaden zum Sanierungsplan nach vereinfachten Anforderungen gemäß § 19 SAG” – only available in German) contains further details on the recovery plan form template and information on how to use it.

Please note that the Excel template attached below must only be used for the internal preparation and alignment of the recovery plan. For the submission of the recovery plan BaFin published a machine-readable format that is accessible via the MVP. Furthermore, for the time being all documents are only available in German.