How multiple point of entry works

Multiple point of entry (MPE) is one of the two principal group resolution strategies. Under an MPE approach, the group is divided into more than one resolution group, each headed by its own resolution entity, and resolution powers can be applied at each of these entities separately. When the group fails, distinct parts can be resolved through independent actions, potentially in different jurisdictions and by different resolution authorities, rather than through a single coordinated action at the top.

Each resolution entity holds its own external MREL, sized to absorb the losses and recapitalise the activities within its resolution group. Loss absorption is therefore localised: a failure concentrated in one sub-group is intended to be handled within that sub-group, without necessarily pulling the rest of the group into resolution. This requires that the sub-groups be sufficiently separable in financial, operational and legal terms.

When MPE is preferred

MPE tends to suit groups that are organised along relatively self-contained lines, for example along national or regional sub-groups with their own funding, management and infrastructure, or where local regulatory and market-access considerations favour standalone entities. Separability is the key precondition: the parts must be able to stand and be resolved on their own, which is assessed through the resolvability assessment and can drive requirements to strengthen operational continuity and remove impediments.

MPE contrasts with a single-point-of-entry strategy, where resolution is applied at one top-level resolution entity that absorbs losses for the whole group and keeps subsidiaries open. The two approaches place loss-absorbing capacity differently and imply different group structures; the choice is set in the resolution plan for each group.

Like SPE, MPE is a strategy built within the BRRD framework rather than a single defined term. It is developed through resolution planning (BRRD Articles 10-14; SRMR Articles 8-9) and executed through the resolution tools, principally bail-in (BRRD Articles 43-44), applied at each resolution entity. It relies on the definitions of resolution entity and resolution group and on the MREL regime as amended by Directive (EU) 2019/879, under which each resolution entity is subject to external MREL under BRRD Articles 45 and following, while entities within a resolution group that are not resolution entities are subject to internal MREL (Article 45f).

Practical relevance for banks and investors

For banks, an MPE strategy shapes the group into separately resolvable blocks, each issuing its own external loss-absorbing capacity and maintaining the operational independence needed to be resolved alone. It can add complexity where sub-groups share services or funding.

For investors, MPE means loss absorption is distributed across several resolution entities rather than concentrated at one. The relevant question for a given bond becomes which resolution group and resolution entity it belongs to, since losses in one part of the group need not fall on creditors of another. This makes the group's resolution-group perimeter, and the identity of the issuing resolution entity, central to credit analysis. See also single point of entry and resolution strategy.