Solvency Ratio Maturity · COBAC Regulation on Solvency
Your risk coverage framework, measured against the COBAC regulation and turned into a costed action plan.
10 themes, a 5-level scale. And the action that moves each level to the next.
The framework’s 10 themes, already written from L1 to L5. One company, one business unit, or 300 at once.
Solvency Ratio Maturity · COBAC Regulation on Solvency
10 themes, 5-level scale.
Nordhavn Industries
53 / 100
They measure their maturity with Datamensio
An example
This could be your situation.
Take one company as an example: three sites, three spreadsheets, no shared answer.
Nobody can consolidate.
Nordhavn Industries, 2,400 people in Hamburg, Lyon and Porto. A client asks where the group stands. Each site answers in its own spreadsheet, with its own scales.
Three weeks, a single base.
One COBAC Regulation R-2016/03 on risk coverage for credit institutions (CEMAC prudential framework) assessment launched across all three sites at once, from the managers’ interview notes. The framework was already written, its 10 themes and levels L1 to L5 too.
Two costs avoided before being committed.
A score of 53 out of 100, with the gap concentrated on three themes. The AI companion spotted that two actions duplicated those of another audit. The committee report took one sentence to request.
What it saved them
- 3sites measured on the same base, instead of three questionnaires to reconcile
- 2duplicate actions caught before the spend
- 1committee report, with no manual rework
These figures are an example. They could be yours.
The standard imposes processes. Datamensio says where you stand.
01
The framework is already written
Themes, questions and levels L1 to L5, all written. You do not start from an empty spreadsheet.
02
The score lands the same day
Online, by self-assessment link or in interview. Theme by theme, comparable over time.
03
The gap becomes a costed plan
Every step up carries its action. The AI prioritises on expected effect, not on the order of the standard.
04
Progress can be demonstrated
Campaign after campaign, against your target and against your own past. That is what your board asks for.
The maturity scale
One level, the next, and the action that links the two.
It is this mechanism (a level, the level above, and the action linking the two) that turns an observation into a trajectory.
Are the risk weightings applied to exposures produced reliably and traceably?
- N1
No documented rules. Weightings are assigned at closing, file by file, with no record of the justification used.
- N2
A methodology note exists. Its application relies on manual spreadsheet adjustments, carried out by one or two people at closing.
- N3
Weighting rules are configured in the production chain, applied at every closing, and discrepancies are subject to documented control.
- N4
The configuration is subject to second line control, the audit trail runs from the prudential return back to the exposure, and anomalies are tracked through to correction.
- N5
Rules are reviewed at every change to the prudential framework or the portfolio, with a version history and a measure of the impact of each revision on the ratio.
Action to move from L2 to L3
Transfer the weighting rules from the methodology note into the production chain configuration, fix the list of remaining manual adjustments, and have discrepancies between the automated and manual calculations validated during the quarterly closing review.
« With Datamensio, we meet our objectives far more efficiently. The ERDF inspection services and our supervising ministry particularly appreciated an approach that gives them reliable data. »
Director, CCI 94CCI Île-de-France
« We believe this is the most suitable solution to scale our transformation project and measure impact according to our needs. »
Maja SucekChief Operating Officer, Interreg Danube
Rarely on its own
Frameworks combine. Put several together to cover your business, or have the AI write yours.
Take your first measurementon COBAC.
What this framework covers
The COBAC solvency ratio sets the minimum ratio between a credit institution’s net own funds and its risk weighted assets. The CEMAC prudential framework sets out several variants: coverage by core own funds, coverage by net own funds, and, following the regional transposition of Basel principles, conservation buffers and additional requirements. It also governs the calculation itself: weightings by exposure class, treatment of collateral, deductions applicable to own funds, and the solo and consolidated scopes.
In practice, the difficulty is not producing the ratio. It is knowing what it is worth. Are the weightings applied based on reliable, up to date counterparty data, or on manual adjustments made at closing? Are own funds deductions recalculated at every closing, or simply carried forward from one quarter to the next? Is the ratio used to steer lending and pricing decisions, or only to feed the reporting sent to the supervisor? Three institutions can show the same figure with control frameworks that bear no comparison.
The regional context has moved on. COBAC has tightened own funds requirements, raised the minimum share capital for credit institutions and introduced internal capital adequacy requirements, in line with the ICAAP framework. One confusion keeps coming back: meeting the regulatory ratio does not mean having an internal capital assessment process in place. The first is a calculated threshold, the second is a governance process linking risk appetite, capital planning and stress scenarios.
Compliance checks and maturity assessment do not answer the same question. A compliance check verifies whether the ratio is met at the closing date: yes or no. The assessment places control of the framework on a progressive scale, from calculations reconstructed by hand through to forward looking steering embedded in lending decisions, and identifies for each theme the action that moves it up a level.
In Datamensio, the framework is ready to use and remains adaptable. The AI adjusts themes, questions and levels to the size of the institution, to its solo or consolidated scope, or builds a variant from your internal procedures and existing prudential returns.
Reference standard: COBAC Regulation R-2016/03 on risk coverage for credit institutions (CEMAC prudential framework)
The themes assessed
Solvency governance
Formalised own funds policy, roles of the board and senior management, risk committee, internal alert thresholds above the regulatory minimum.
Composition and quality of own funds
Classification of instruments into core and supplementary own funds, application of deductions, treatment of equity holdings, minimum regulatory share capital.
Measurement of risk weighted credit risk
Exposure classes, weightings applied, treatment of off balance sheet commitments, recognition of eligible collateral and guarantees.
Other risks covered
Recognition of market risk and operational risk in own funds requirements, methods used and consistency of parameters.
Data quality and calculation chain
Sourcing from the information system, automated controls, manual adjustments, reconciliation with accounting records, audit trail.
Solo and consolidated scope
Determination of the prudential consolidation scope, reporting from subsidiaries and branches, consistency of methods across the group.
Capital planning and internal adequacy
Projection of own funds and risk weighted assets, alignment with the budget, risk appetite, stress scenarios and recovery plan.
Prudential reporting and relationship with the supervisor
Timely production of returns, quality of supporting evidence, follow up on COBAC recommendations, handling of further requests.
Independent control and review
Second line permanent control over the calculation, internal audit review, involvement of statutory auditors, follow up on detected anomalies.
Use in decision making
Own funds allocation by activity, use in lending and pricing decisions, decisions on loan book growth, dividend distribution.
A short version of the framework is available for the online self-assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Does this assessment certify compliance with the regulatory ratio?
No. Compliance with the ratio is established from the prudential returns submitted to COBAC, at a given closing date. The assessment measures the maturity of the framework that produces and steers this ratio: governance, data quality, controls, own funds planning. It prepares for inspections, it does not replace them.
How does this differ from a prudential compliance check?
A compliance check concludes with a pass or a breach against the threshold. The assessment places each practice on a progressive scale and identifies the action that moves it up a level. The two complement each other: the assessment explains why a gap appears and what needs to change so it does not reappear.
How long does the assessment take?
The short version takes 20 to 30 minutes for a risk or permanent control officer to complete. The full version, run collaboratively across risk, finance and IT, generally spans one to two weeks, with most of the time spent gathering supporting evidence.
Can the framework be adapted to our institution?
Yes. You can edit the questions, levels and themes, or start from a blank base. The AI can also build a variant from your procedures and prudential returns, for example to distinguish the solo scope from the consolidated scope. The framework stays under your control.
Can several subsidiaries of a regional group be compared?
Yes. The same framework is deployed across each business unit, with a score per theme and a benchmark between entities, as well as against previous assessments. A cross group roadmap consolidates subsidiaries’ action plans and avoids addressing the same issue twice.
How does this assessment fit with ICAAP and other prudential ratios?
The solvency ratio, risk concentration limits, liquidity and internal capital adequacy largely rely on the same data and the same controls. A solid solvency assessment provides a reusable foundation. Cross cutting roadmaps allow these topics to be linked without duplicating actions.
What does the assessment produce once complete?
A score per theme, the gap against the target you set, and the resulting action plan. The AI groups actions into a prioritised roadmap, and the service catalogue offers a solution against each item, with cost, timeframe and expected impact on the score.
Where is the data hosted?
In France, with OVH, backed up with Scaleway. No transfer outside the European Union. The AI models used can be selected, including from European providers.