Key Insights
- Streamlining reporting: The ECB’s IReF initiative will streamline reporting for Eurozone banks by reducing redundancy and consolidating multiple reporting requirements.
- Moving from vision to implementation: The ECB has formally moved IReF into the implementation phase, with confirmed milestones signaling a shift from strategic planning to structured delivery across the Eurozone.
- Launching a new timeline: IReF will follow a phased rollout—public consultation in the second half of 2027, one-year pilot phase starting in Q2 2030 and official reporting beginning in Q2 2031 with a one-year parallel run—giving banks clarity but also extending the transformation window.
After years of industry consultation, the European Central Bank (ECB) has formally outlined the next phase of the Integrated Reporting Framework (IReF). With the publication of its latest milestones, IReF has entered a new stage—from concept and consultation into structured implementation.
IReF, currently under development and subject to future regulation, aims to reduce the reporting burden on banks by eliminating redundant data submissions and simplifying regulatory oversight. IReF gives banks, vendors and regulators a clear, regulator-backed roadmap for operationalizing at scale.
Placing IReF In context
Following the 2008 financial crisis, the scope and granularity of regulatory reporting across Europe expanded significantly, with new frameworks being introduced and existing regimes being enhanced.
These included Common Reporting (COREP), Financial Reporting (FINREP), Analytical Credit Datasets (AnaCredit), Balance Sheet Items (BSI), Monetary Financial Institution Interest Rates (MIR) and Securities Holdings Statistics (SHS).
However, collectively, these mandates created:
- Overlapping data requirements
- Redundant submissions
- Fragmented national implementations
The latest announcement clarifies its timeline of directly addressing this problem. It will consolidate statistical reporting into a single, standardized collection framework applied across the Eurozone. This will establish the foundation for broader regulatory integration, which may support future alignment across statistical, prudential and resolution reporting domains, subject to further regulatory decisions
What changes under IReF?
The implementation of IReF expects to impact banks not just operationally, but structurally, too.
From templates to granular data models
Instead of submitting multiple predefined reports, banks will provide a unified dataset of granular data points, which regulators can reuse across reporting use cases.
From duplication to reuse
IReF is expected to replace key statistical frameworks such as:
- AnaCredit
- Balance Sheet Items (BSI)
- Monetary Financial Institution Interest Rates (MIR)
- Securities Holdings Statistics (SHS)
This represents a move toward “collect once, use many times” architecture, which will allow for more efficient use of financial data across multiple regulatory mandates.
From national divergence to Eurozone standardization
The framework aims to harmonize reporting outputs by standardizing:
- Common data definition
- Granular data model
- Collection processes
This is particularly impactful for cross-border institutions, enabling consistency across jurisdictions.
IReF has the potential to transform Eurozone regulatory reporting by consolidating fragmented submissions into a single, unified dataset. While this shift enhances efficiency, banks must proactively address challenges related to data granularity, quality and reconciliation.
The updated IReF timeline
The IReF rollout follows a phased approach:
- Mid-2023–2025: Eurosystem conducted the IReF investigation phase
- H2 2027: Public consultation on the IReF regulation
- Q2 2030: Start of one-year pilot (testing phase)
- Q2 2031: First official IReF reporting begins
- Q2 2031–Q2 2032: Parallel reporting alongside legacy frameworks
The revised timeline reflects:
- Industry feedback on implementation complexity
- The need for robust technical testing
- Alignment with broader Eurozone data integration initiatives
Some banks, especially those with reporting obligations in multiple jurisdictions, may already have had a head start due to similarities between IReF and other regulatory frameworks. Comparable initiatives include:
- Taxonomy-based submissions incorporating a common data dictionary (e.g., Bank of England, Banque de France, Banca d’Italia, Central Bank of Ireland and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority).
- Expanded granular data reporting (GDR) requirements for balance sheets and interest rates (e.g., AnaCredit, BSI, Hong Kong’s HKMA GDR).
- Data collection transformation strategies (e.g., APRA’s data collection reforms)
What this means for banks
While IReF promises long-term simplification, the short‑to‑medium-term impact is significant. This may include:
- Data architecture overhaul: Banks will likely need to transition from report-centric processes to data-centric architectures capable of handling granular datasets.
- Increased data quality expectations: Granular reporting removes the ability to hide inconsistencies behind aggregates, increasing scrutiny on data lineage, validation and reconciliation.
- Operating model design: IReF will require stronger alignment between Finance, Risk, Regulatory Reporting and Data Governance, which would elevate regulatory reporting from a compliance function to a core enterprise data capability.
The ECB has confirmed that further methodological and technical details will be provided in the upcoming implementation plan, meaning execution guidance is still evolving.
The road to regulatory simplification: A structural shift in regulatory reporting
Ultimately, IReF is the first step toward a broader, more harmonized regulatory reporting system. It signals the move away from template-based reporting, the rise of reusable, standardized data models and euro area-wide reporting harmonization.
Banks should consider preparing for this latest phase of structured implementation. While many already possess the necessary reporting data, its current level of granularity is likely insufficient for IReF’s enhanced requirements.
Forward-looking institutions are those that:
- Invest now in granular data models and common data dictionaries
- Automate data sourcing, data controls, validation and end-to-end lineage
- Rationalize fragmented reporting architectures into a single platform
- Explore efficiency improvements with agentic AI in regulatory reporting
By moving now, banks can get ahead of IReF requirements while building scalable data architectures that will support future regulatory change.
Preparing for IReF compliance
To stay ahead of shifting regulatory requirements, banks need robust reporting solutions with data management capabilities that can enhance granularity, reconciliation and high-volume processing.
Explore how Nasdaq's end-to-end regulatory reporting platform can support your firm’s compliance.
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