The political agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament on the so-called "CRD 4" package was endorsed by the Council. The package contains two proposals set out to amend and replace existing capital requirement directives: a regulation establishing prudential requirements that institutions need to respect, and a directive governing access to deposit-taking activities.

At a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, EU Ministers endorsed the political agreement reached in February 2013 between negotiators from the Council and the European Parliament on the so-called "CRD 4" package amending the EU's rules on capital requirements for banks and investment firms.

The two new legislative instruments included in the package, a regulation establishing prudential requirements that institutions need to respect, and a directive governing access to deposit-taking activities, are aimed at transposing into EU law an international agreement approved by the G-20 in November 2010. The so-called "Basel 3" agreement, concluded by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, strengthens bank capital requirements, introduces a mandatory capital conservation buffer and a discretionary countercyclical buffer, and foresees a framework for new regulatory requirements on liquidity and leverage, as well as additional capital surcharges for systemically important institutions.

The Council presidency and Parliament agreed, during the latest round of negotiations, on requirements for national systemic risk buffers and buffers for systemically important financial institutions; Flexibility for member states to impose stricter national measures to address increased macro-prudential risks to financial stability; Reporting requirements for banks on a country-by-country basis; Restrictions on bankers' bonuses; And additional own-initiative mediation powers for the European Banking Authority.