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Who is the EBA: the EU's banking authority — and supervisor of the biggest stablecoins

The European Banking Authority writes the EU's banking rulebook and, under MiCA, is the body that directly supervises the largest 'significant' stablecoins — the one part of crypto licensing that is centralised at EU level, not national. What it does, how it differs from ESMA, who runs it after the 2026 leadership change, and its role under DORA — every fact sourced.

Published May 17, 2026 · 8 min read · 9 sources cited

Most of MiCA is enforced nationally — you get your crypto licence from a national regulator, not from Brussels. There is one big exception, and it is the EBA: the largest stablecoins are supervised directly at EU level, by the European Banking Authority. This is a profile of what the EBA is, what it does under MiCA and DORA, how it splits work with ESMA, and who runs it after the 2026 change at the top. Every fact is sourced.

Quick facts

  • Full name: European Banking Authority (EBA)
  • Established: by Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of 24 November 2010; it has applied since 1 January 2011 (EUR-Lex summary)
  • Legal status: an independent EU Authority (EBA) and a decentralised EU agency; one of the three authorities in the European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS) alongside ESMA (securities) and EIOPA (insurance/pensions)
  • Headquarters: Paris (EU institutions directory) — relocated from London to Paris as of 30 March 2019 under amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1717, following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU
  • Mission: contribute to the stability and effectiveness of the European financial system through consistent regulation and supervision (EBA)
  • Chairperson: François-Louis Michaud — took up the role on 16 April 2026; five-year term, extendable once; previously EBA Executive Director since 1 September 2020 (EBA). He succeeded José Manuel Campa, who left at the end of January 2026 (EBA)
  • Executive Director: vacant — the EBA is recruiting a successor to Michaud (EBA)
  • Website: eba.europa.eu

What the EBA is — and what it is not

The EBA is the EU-level authority for banking, and — since MiCA — the prudential supervisor of the biggest stablecoins. It is an independent EU Authority (EBA): structurally independent of government, with its own legal personality. That is the opposite of the European AI Office, which is a department inside the Commission — the EBA is a genuine standalone EU agency, like ESMA.

What it is not: it is not the regulator a typical crypto firm deals with. For most of MiCA — getting a licence as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP — exchange, custody, brokerage, etc.) — the authority is your national competent authority (NCA — the financial regulator in each Member State), not the EBA. The EBA’s direct crypto remit is narrow and specific: the significant stablecoins (explained below).

What the EBA actually does

Its core job is the EU banking rulebook and supervisory consistency. For the verticals here, three things matter:

  1. The single rulebook for banks — binding technical standards and guidelines that fill in EU banking law so 27 national supervisors apply it the same way.
  2. Prudential supervision of significant stablecoin issuers under MiCA — the one slice of crypto supervision that is centralised at EU level.
  3. One of the three ESAs under DORA — joint EU oversight of the tech suppliers the financial system depends on.

Prudential supervision here means checking that an issuer actually holds enough high-quality reserves and capital to honour redemptions and stay solvent — not consumer-facing conduct rules, but the financial-soundness layer.

The EBA’s role under MiCA

MiCA (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, the EU’s single rulebook for crypto-assets) deliberately centralises one thing with the EBA: the largest stablecoins.

  • Significant ART/EMT. MiCA splits stablecoins into asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens (ART/EMT — tokens backed by a basket of assets, or by a single currency such as the euro). Once an issuer’s token crosses MiCA’s size thresholds it is classified “significant”, and prudential supervision moves up from the national regulator to the EBA (EBA, which lists Markets in Crypto-assets under its direct supervision). The logic: a euro stablecoin used across the whole single market is a systemic question, not a national one.
  • What the EBA does not do. It does not write the crypto market-conduct rulebook or run the public MiCA register — that is ESMA. It does not licence ordinary CASPs — that is the NCAs. Its MiCA reach is the prudential supervision of significant ART/EMT issuers.

For the wider MiCA picture — who needs a licence, the thresholds, the rollout dates, the penalties — see the MiCA pillar.

The EBA’s role under DORA

The EBA is one of the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) — with ESMA and EIOPA — that run DORA (Regulation (EU) 2022/2554, the EU’s ICT operational-resilience law for finance).

DORA’s headline novelty is direct EU oversight of critical ICT third-party providers (CTPPs — the cloud and tech suppliers the financial system depends on, e.g. the hyperscale clouds). The three ESAs jointly designate which providers are “critical” under Article 31 DORA and run the oversight through a Joint Committee. The first list — 19 designated CTPPs — was published by the ESAs’ Joint Committee on 18 November 2025. For the full DORA picture see the DORA pillar.

EBA vs ESMA vs national regulators — who does what

These are constantly conflated. The clean split for crypto:

  • EBA — banking, and under MiCA the prudential supervision of significant asset-referenced and e-money tokens (the big stablecoins). Independent EU agency, Paris.
  • ESMA — securities markets, and under MiCA the crypto rulebook + the public register + supervisory convergence. Does not licence or fine firms.
  • National competent authorities (NCAs) — one per Member State (AMF in France, BaFin in Germany, etc.). They authorise CASPs, supervise them day to day, and impose the fines, and supervise non-significant stablecoins.

So “who supervises a stablecoin?” — it depends on size, by design: the national regulator until it becomes significant, the EBA once it does.

Leadership

The EBA is run by a full-time Chairperson (the public-facing head, who chairs the Board of Supervisors of all national banking regulators) and an Executive Director (who runs the organisation day to day). The Council of the EU appoints the Chairperson after confirmation by the European Parliament, under Article 48 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010.

  • Chairperson: François-Louis Michaud. He took up the role on 16 April 2026 for a five-year term, extendable once. He had been the EBA’s Executive Director since 1 September 2020 (EBA).
  • Predecessor: José Manuel Campa. Chairperson from 2019; he left the Authority at the end of January 2026, and the EBA ran an open selection procedure for the successor (EBA).
  • Executive Director: vacant. Because Michaud was promoted from Executive Director to Chairperson, the EBA is recruiting the next Executive Director (EBA).

What this means for you

  • If you issue a stablecoin in the EU: your supervisor depends on size. Below MiCA’s significance thresholds you deal with your national regulator; once your token is classified significant, prudential supervision moves up to the EBA — a step-change in scrutiny, not just a bigger version of the same.
  • If you run an ordinary crypto service (exchange, custody, brokerage): your authority is the NCA, not the EBA. The EBA is not who you apply to or get fined by.
  • If you are a financial entity under DORA: the EBA is one of your three ESAs; if a provider you depend on is designated a critical ICT third-party, that provider comes under EU-level oversight the EBA helps run.
  • If you are a journalist or researcher: the EBA is an independent EU agency (Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, operating since 2011, in Paris since its 30 March 2019 relocation from London). Note the 2026 change at the top: Campa out end of January 2026, François-Louis Michaud Chairperson since 16 April 2026, Executive Director post vacant — verify current leadership against the EBA site, as it is mid-transition.

TL;DR

The EBA is the EU’s independent banking authority and, under MiCA, the prudential supervisor of the largest “significant” asset-referenced and e-money tokens — the one slice of crypto supervision centralised at EU level, while ordinary CASP licensing stays national (and the rulebook/register sits with ESMA). Under DORA it is one of the three ESAs jointly overseeing critical ICT third-party providers. It was established by Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, operating since 2011, and has been based in Paris since relocating from London on 30 March 2019. Leadership changed in 2026: José Manuel Campa left at the end of January 2026; François-Louis Michaud, previously Executive Director, became Chairperson on 16 April 2026; the Executive Director post is vacant.

Sources