Open data · By Line4 · Last checked 11 November 2026
Regulatory returns, in plain English
What 8 financial regulators ask the firms they supervise to send them, return by return: what each return is for, who files it, how often and by when, in what format, the templates in it, the validation rules, the official documents and whether the data is published. Every fact links to the regulator's own page or the legal text it came from.
The regulators
Choose a regulator for its returns, how firms file them, the data it publishes and its terms for reusing its documents.
| Regulator | Country | Returns | File formats | With published rules | Firm-by-firm public data | Reuse of its documents | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Banking Authority (EBA) | Country: European Union | Returns: 58 | File formats: PDF, XBRL-XML, xBRL-CSV | With published rules: 58 | Firm-by-firm public data: 10 | Reuse of its documents: Allowed with conditions (copies kept) | Last checked: 11 November 2026 |
| European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) | Country: European Union | Returns: 17 | File formats: XBRL-XML | With published rules: 13 | Firm-by-firm public data: 0 | Reuse of its documents: Allowed with conditions (copies kept) | Last checked: 11 November 2026 |
| Bank of England (PRA), banks | Country: United Kingdom | Returns: 81 | File formats: Excel, XBRL-XML, XML, Other | With published rules: 55 | Firm-by-firm public data: 0 | Reuse of its documents: Not allowed (link only) | Last checked: 11 November 2026 |
| Bank of England (PRA), insurers | Country: United Kingdom | Returns: 29 | File formats: Excel, XBRL-XML, Other | With published rules: 17 | Firm-by-firm public data: 2 | Reuse of its documents: Not allowed (link only) | Last checked: 11 November 2026 |
| Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) | Country: United States | Returns: 16 | File formats: XBRL-XML, Other | With published rules: 3 | Firm-by-firm public data: 7 | Reuse of its documents: Unclear (link only) | Last checked: 11 November 2026 |
| Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) | Country: Australia | Returns: 199 | File formats: Excel, Web form, XBRL-XML, XML, Other | With published rules: 188 | Firm-by-firm public data: 26 | Reuse of its documents: Allowed with conditions (copies kept) | Last checked: 11 November 2026 |
| Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) | Country: Canada | Returns: 148 | File formats: CSV, Excel, Flat file, Web form, XML, Other | With published rules: 61 | Firm-by-firm public data: 19 | Reuse of its documents: Allowed with conditions (link only) | Last checked: 11 November 2026 |
| Bank of Israel (Banking Supervision Department) | Country: Israel | Returns: 51 | File formats: Excel, XBRL-XML, Other | With published rules: 28 | Firm-by-firm public data: 4 | Reuse of its documents: Unclear (link only) | Last checked: 11 November 2026 |
Counts are returns. Validation rules are not added up across regulators: each counts its rules in its own way, so each return's page gives its own count and how it was made.
What the data shows
Counted from the 599 returns, as of 11 November 2026.
- 01174 of the 599 returns (29%) can be filed in XBRL. Counting every format a return accepts: Excel 263, XML 231, Web form 184, PDF 8, CSV 5, Flat file 2. A tool that checks returns has to read all of them, not just XBRL.
- 02The regulators publish validation rules for 423 of the 599 returns. For 293 of them, software can run the rules exactly as published; for the others the rules are written for people to read.
- 03Firm-by-firm data from the returns is public for 68 returns, at 6 of the 8 regulators (EBA, PRA (insurers), FFIEC, APRA, OSFI, Bank of Israel). For the rest, only totals are published, or no published data was found.
- 0417 returns are published but not yet in force, and 19 are being replaced. Regulatory reporting keeps changing, so every regulator's page says when it was last checked.
Why this matters
Supervisors are moving from periodic returns to real-time supervision: validated data sent straight through from firms' systems and checked as it arrives. Step one is knowing exactly what is collected, in what format and under which rules.
This library sets that out, return by return, in one format across regulators, with the regulator's own source behind every fact. It is free to use and to reuse.
How the library is built
- Every fact carries the address of the page or legal text it was read from: the regulator's own website, or the law. Nothing is written from memory.
- Each official file is recorded with its size and SHA-256 fingerprint as downloaded on the day it was checked, so a change by the regulator shows up.
- Where a regulator's site refuses automated access, or a document sits behind a login, the regulator's page says what could not be verified.
- Plain name first, the regulator's code in brackets. Short sentences, and any jargon explained.
Words used here
- Return (or submission)
- A set of figures and facts a regulated firm must send its regulator, on a fixed timetable and in a fixed layout.
- Template
- One table or form inside a return, such as a balance sheet. Each has a code, such as F 01.01 or RC-A.
- Taxonomy
- A machine-readable dictionary of every data point a regulator collects, with the rules that check them. Software uses it to build and check files.
- XBRL
- eXtensible Business Reporting Language, an open standard for sending financial data as tagged facts. XBRL-XML is its classic file format; xBRL-CSV carries the same facts as CSV tables.
- Validation rule
- An automatic check a regulator runs on a return, such as "total assets must equal total liabilities plus equity". Machine-readable rules can be run by software as published.
- SHA-256
- A fingerprint of a file. If even one byte of the regulator's file changes, the fingerprint changes, so anyone can tell whether they have exactly the same version.
- Firm-level data
- Published figures for each named firm, as opposed to aggregate data added up across firms.
Reuse the data
Line4's text and records are free to reuse, including commercially, under CC BY 4.0. Please credit:
Source: Line4 regulatory submissions library (CC BY 4.0), https://www.line4.ai
The regulators' documents, forms, taxonomies, rules and data belong to the regulators. Line4 does not own them and does not licence them. Each regulator's page quotes its own reuse terms, with a link. The terms of 3 of the 8 regulators (EBA, EIOPA, APRA) clearly allow their documents to be copied and shared; for the others, the library keeps only the link, size and fingerprint.
The same data comes as files: a JSON file of every regulator, with a JSON Schema that explains every field, and CSV tables of the returns, templates, documents and public datasets. They live in Line4's open data repo on GitHub. The open data repo goes public soon.
This library describes what regulators publish. It is not legal or regulatory advice: always rely on the regulator's own text.