The coronavirus outbreak has influenced banks’ results in the 1st quarter of 2020 reflected in the largest impairment charges for the largest banks since the 2008-09 financial crisis. How severely the economy and the banks will be affected remains highly uncertain. Credit institutions today enjoy both better capitalisation and higher excess liquidity than in the run-up to previous downturns. But it is important for institutions to ensure sufficient distance to the requirement through issuance of MREL-eligible debt instruments.