2021 report (pursuant to Article 92(4) of the Regulation (EU) No 806/2014) on any contingent liabilities arising as a result of the performance by the Single Resolution Board, the Council or the Commission of their tasks under this Regulation for the 2021 financial year

The Single Resolution Mechanism is the EU's system for managing the resolution of failing banks in the euro area, with the Single Resolution Board (SRB) having a central role, together with the Commission and the Council. The SRB oversees the Single Resolution Fund (SRF), which can be used in bank resolutions. We have an obligation to report annually on any contingent liabilities arising. So far, the SRF has not been called upon, but there is a considerable increase in the number of ongoing legal proceedings relating to a first resolution and other decisions, as well as ex ante contributions to the SRF. For the 2021 financial year, the Commission and the Council did not report any contingent liabilities. Following our recommendation from the previous year's report, the SRB developed a method for calculating contingent liabilities relating to legal challenges to ex ante contributions and reported a significantly lower amount compared to that disclosed in the 2020 accounts. The SRB did not report any contingent liabilities for a resolution decision. We found no evidence that would contradict the SRB's assessment in material terms. However, we note that some legal proceedings in relation to the ex ante contribution to the SRF target specific aspects of the SRB calculations and the risk of an outflow of economic resources was assessed as possible in certain cases.