Pillar 1 is the part of the Basel framework that sets minimum capital requirements for credit risk, operational risk and other risks with prescribed methods. In the EU the minimums are 4.5% CET1, 6% Tier 1 and 8% total capital as a share of risk-weighted assets.
Pillar 2 (P2R and P2G)Pillar 2 covers risks not captured, or not fully captured, by Pillar 1. Supervisors set a binding Pillar 2 requirement (P2R) after the SREP, and a non-binding Pillar 2 guidance (P2G) informed by stress tests. Both are expressed as a share of risk-weighted assets.
Pillar 3 disclosuresPillar 3 is the set of public disclosures that banks must publish on their capital, risk exposures, liquidity, leverage and risk management, in standard EBA templates. It lets markets compare banks. Under CRR3 the EBA centralises publication through its Pillar 3 data hub.
CET1 (Common Equity Tier 1)Common Equity Tier 1 is the highest quality layer of a bank's own funds: ordinary shares, share premium, retained earnings and other reserves, minus regulatory deductions. The CET1 ratio divides it by risk-weighted assets and must be at least 4.5% under the CRR, before buffers and Pillar 2.
Risk-weighted assets (RWA)Risk-weighted assets measure a bank's exposures adjusted for risk: each exposure is multiplied by a risk weight that reflects its credit, operational or other risk. Capital ratios divide capital by RWA, so RWA also sets how much capital a bank must hold. Also called risk exposure amount.
Operational riskOperational risk is the risk of loss from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external events. It includes legal risk and excludes strategic and reputational risk. Examples are fraud, processing errors, cyber incidents and outages.
CET1 (Common Equity Tier 1)Common Equity Tier 1 is the highest quality layer of a bank's own funds: ordinary shares, share premium, retained earnings and other reserves, minus regulatory deductions. The CET1 ratio divides it by risk-weighted assets and must be at least 4.5% under the CRR, before buffers and Pillar 2.
Risk-weighted assets (RWA)Risk-weighted assets measure a bank's exposures adjusted for risk: each exposure is multiplied by a risk weight that reflects its credit, operational or other risk. Capital ratios divide capital by RWA, so RWA also sets how much capital a bank must hold. Also called risk exposure amount.