Cross-border cooperation agreements should help facilitate institution-specific crisis management planning and cooperation between relevant authorities, with a presumption in favour of cooperation in the event of the firm's resolution. They should support the preparation of RRPs and the effective implementation of resolution measures in a crisis by providing a framework for possible solutions to legal or other impediments that may exist. This will require firm-specific agreements involving all members of a firm's cross-border CMG, including the relevant authorities from the home and all key host jurisdictions. Bi-national agreements between the relevant authorities of the home and a host jurisdiction should set out how national legal and resolution regimes would interact given a firm's business. They may complement firm-specific multinational agreements among home and all key host jurisdictions.

The effectiveness of institution-specific cooperation agreements hinges on the home and host authorities having the necessary resolution powers in relation to the firm's operations, including the branch operation of a foreign firm (see Key Attribute 7).

The institution-specific cooperation agreement establishes a framework for the development of RRPs, based on the conduct of pre-crisis resolvability assessments, and for cooperation and coordination in a crisis in accordance with the agreed RRPs. Both RRPs and cooperation agreements are expected to be regularly updated and evolve over time.

Institution-specific cross-border cooperation agreements should, at a minimum, include the following elements [These elements build upon the FSF's Principles for cross-border cooperation in crisis management as endorsed by the G20 Leaders Summit in London in April 2009.].

1. Objectives, nature and scope of the agreement