Bank of England warns against counteracting regulatory capital requirements

The Bank of England has warned PRA-regulated firms not to structure deficit reduction transactions so as to “limit the regulatory capital impact that would otherwise result.”

The press release, issued on April 13, 2022, says that the Bank is aware that some PRA-regulated firms have conducted or may be considering conducting such transactions with their DB pension schemes. It warns them against this and points to the risks of such transactions, including that “(…) they can have the effect of overestimating eligible capital or reducing capital requirements, without commensurately reducing the risk in the financial system, thus undermining the calibration of minimum regulatory capital requirements.”

This is a reminder to banks and insurance companies to tread carefully when seeking to optimise their accounting treatment for DB pension assets and liabilities. The Bank of England clearly disapproves of any payment structure that could be seen as trying to artificially reduce or defer regulatory capital requirements.