Bafin imposes half a million euro fines on Solaris – what's behind it

Solaris under pressure: BaFin imposes €500,000 fines on the digital bank. What's behind this?

Bad news for Solaris: The financial supervisory authority Bafin has imposed fines totaling 500,000 euros on the digital bank.

Reason: Solaris is said to have exceeded the limit for large loans several times between January 2022 and March 2024.

The company thus violated the provisions of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) – the European Capital Adequacy Regulation.

The objective of the CRR is to ensure that banks have sufficient capital. Credit institutions should also consider potential default risks when granting loans.

Excessively large individual loans can, in an emergency, place a significant burden on a bank's equity. Banks are required to regularly report large loans granted to the supervisory authority.

According to BaFin, the permissible limit for so-called large exposures is generally EUR 150 million or 25 percent of an institution's core capital.

The decision against Solaris is legally binding, according to Bafin.