How Ireland’s CRD VI implementation will impact lenders and customers

Having originally missed the 10 January 2026 deadline for transposing the new requirements, Ireland last week confirmed its implementation of CRD VI after Ireland’s minister for finance signed the new regulations into law.

The implementing legislation (93-page/ 559 KB PDF) largely mirrors the wording of the EU directive as a full and faithful transposition into law, with no specific Irish-focused enhancements or changes. Other countries, such as the Netherlands, have also recently implemented the new rules.

For banks and financial institutions operating in Ireland, Article 21c of the EU directive – which focuses on banking services provided by third country undertakings – could bring extra uncertainty and a need for close review of how services are provided to Irish clients.

What the new rules mean

Under the directive, third-country entities are banned from providing certain core banking services to EU-based clients, with some specific exceptions. This means lenders without either a physical branch in Ireland or an EU subsidiary will be barred from taking deposits and other repayable funds, lending, or providing guarantees to Irish clients.

The ban on lending applies to entities which would be classed under the directive as ‘credit institutions’ if the entity were established in the EU. It also applies to some larger investment firms.

However, contracts for core banking activities entered into before 11 July 2026 are exempted, alongside situations where an EU-based customer specifically approached the lender without solicitation, or where lending is being conducted at an interbank or inter-group level.

Institutions without a presence in an EU country will have until 10 January 2027 to establish either a physical third country branch, or a licenced subsidiary within the EU. Locally authorised subsidiaries can provide core banking services via passporting rights, while third country branches would still need to go through an application and approval process via the Central Bank of Ireland – and would be limited to the state, in this case Ireland, in which it is established.

The new regime is aimed at preventing an uneven playing field across Europe, with a harmonised regulatory framework for member states relating to lending from third country financial institutions.

How Ireland has responded

The new rules represent a significant shift from Ireland’s previous position, which generally operated without restrictions around cross-border banking services into the country.

The introduction of the new legislation is also set to create challenges for firms operating in Ireland, as no further guidance is expected from either the Department of Finance or from the Central Bank of Ireland over implementation challenges.

Non-EU lenders are not expected to depart from the Irish lending market, with a focus on the reverse solicitation exemption likely to play a significant role in the way Irish firms can access funds from non-EU entities.

The reverse solicitation exemption opens the door for the many major companies based in Ireland to continue to access non-EU lending. However, it also comes with a requirement for careful evidencing of the approach by the Irish entity to the non-EU entity at “its own exclusive initiative”, and that compliance procedures have been robustly followed.

With a continuing lack of clarity around how the CRD VI exemptions will operate in practice, much scrutiny is expected of early decisions made under the legislation to help shape the regulatory impact going forward.

How this impacts Ireland

Ireland – like many of the EU member states to have implemented the legislation so far – has eschewed the option of a ‘gold-plated’, region-specific set of rules. This should enable parity across the bloc as countries adopt the same regulatory approach. There is, however, a risk that differing approaches will be adopted by EU member states when implementing the legislation so creating variation in the application of the rules.

With the legislation having come into effect, companies operating in Ireland now need to take a closer look at current financial arrangements and core banking services provided by lenders based outside the EU.

Getting clear expert advice on whether current banking services fall under the third country restrictions, particularly with the lack of clarity around some of the rules, is vital to avoid falling foul of regulations in the near future.