49th meeting of the Financial Market Stability Board

Structural systemic risks were on top of the agenda of the 49th meeting of the Financial Market Stability Board (FMSB), which took place on 25 June 2026. Other topics included the impact of the sectoral systemic risk buffer on lending activity and lending rates, the evolution of lending standards for private residential real estate financing and the risks associated with investment funds and private credit. The recommendation for a countercyclical capital buffer of 0% remained unchanged.

Structural systemic risks

The macroprudential capital buffers implemented in Austria have crucially contributed to increasing the Austrian banking system’s resilience towards structural systemic risks in recent years. The structural capital buffers include the systemic risk buffer (SyRB) and the other systemically important institutions (O-SII) buffer. The FMSB reviewed the assessment bases for both buffers in its 49th meeting. The Austrian Banking Act requires such an annual review for the O-SII buffer and a review every two years for the SyRB.

The levels for both buffers will be adopted in autumn 2026.

Sectoral systemic risk buffer for commercial real estate financing

The Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) reported that neither the announcement nor the introduction of the sectoral systemic risk buffer had led to any changes in the volume of new loans issued for commercial real estate financing. Likewise, interest rates on commercial real estate loans did not follow a path different from interest rates on loans not subject to the sectoral SyRB. This shows that the buffer fulfils its purpose of strengthening resilience in this segment without constraining banks’ financing activities.

Lending standards for private residential real estate loans

The FMSB noted that since the expiry of the regulation for sustainable lending standards for residential real estate financing (“KIM-V”), the proportion of private residential real estate loans not subject to the FMSB’s criteria had only increased to such an extent that the proportion of these loans in new loans remained below 20% at the aggregate level. The committee will continue to monitor developments closely.

Private credit

Private equity, a form of lending outside the banking sector, is a rapidly growing market, especially in the USA. Still, it remains a small segment compared to other forms of intermediation like private equity, bond and stock markets, and banks. In its discussion, the FMSB noted that in Austria, direct exposure to the private equity segment does not cause systemic risks at the moment; that said, assessments are challenging given scarce data in this field. Together with the Financial Market Authority (FMA), the OeNB is currently working to improve the availability of information and will keep the FMSB informed about any key developments.

Countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB)

The FMSB advises the FMA to maintain the CCyB at its current rate of 0% of domestic risk-weighted assets. At the end of Q1 2026, only one of 16 indicators pointed to increased financial cycle risks. The two indicators of the credit-to-GDP gap, which carry higher weights in the assessment of financial cycle risks, remained below their critical thresholds. For details, see Recommendation FMSB/2/2026. An interactive version of the dashboard of systemic cyclical risk indicators is available on the OeNB website.

However, market turbulences resulting from the war in the Middle East are increasing macroeconomic uncertainty, constraining economic growth and exacerbating both inflation and interest risks to an extent that is difficult to assess. Therefore, banks should continue to actively manage non-performing loans, increase risk provisioning and maintain conservative collateral assessments