DECISION (EU) 2015/425 OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
of 15 December 2014
amending Decision ECB/2010/21 on the annual accounts of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/55)
THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,
Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular Article 26.2 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Decision ECB/2010/21 (1) lays down the rules for drawing up the annual accounts of the European Central Bank (ECB).
(2)
There is a need to further clarify the valuation approach of securities held for monetary policy purposes.
(3)
Technical clarifications need to be incorporated into Decision ECB/2010/21 following Decision ECB/2014/40 (2) and Decision ECB/2014/45 (3).
(4)
Some further technical changes to Decision ECB/2010/21 are also required.
(5)
Therefore Decision ECB/2010/21 should be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Amendment
Decision ECB/2010/21 is amended as follows:
1.
Article 8 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 8
Balance sheet valuation rules
1. Current market rates and prices shall be used for balance sheet valuation purposes unless specified otherwise in Annex I.
2. The revaluation of gold, foreign currency instruments, securities (other than securities classified as held-to-maturity, non-marketable securities, and securities held for monetary policy purposes that are accounted for at amortised costs), as well as financial instruments, both on-balance-sheet and off-balance-sheet, shall be performed at the year-end at mid-market rates and prices.
3. No distinction shall be made between price and currency revaluation differences for gold, but a single gold revaluation difference shall be accounted for, based on the euro price per defined unit of weight of gold derived from the euro/US dollar exchange rate on the quarterly revaluation date. For foreign exchange, including on-balance-sheet and off-balance-sheet transactions, revaluation shall take place on a currency-by-currency basis. For the purpose of this Article, holdings of SDRs, including designated individual foreign exchange holdings underlying the SDR basket, shall be treated as one holding. For securities, revaluation shall take place on a code-by-code basis, i.e. same ISIN number/type, while any embedded options will not be separated for valuation purposes. Securities held for monetary policy purposes or included in the items “Other financial assets” or “Sundry” shall be treated as separate holdings.
4. Securities classified as held-to-maturity shall be treated as separate holdings, valued at amortised costs and be subject to impairment. The same treatment shall apply to non-marketable securities and securities held for monetary policy purposes that are accounted for at amortised costs. Securities classified as held-to-maturity may be sold before their maturity in any of the following circumstances:
(a)
if the quantity sold is considered not significant in comparison with the total amount of the held-to-maturity securities portfolio;
(b)
if the securities are sold during one month before maturity date;
(c)
under exceptional circumstances, such as a significant deterioration of the issuer's creditworthiness.’
;
2.
Annex I is replaced by the text set out in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 2
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on 31 December 2014.
Done at Frankfurt am Main, 15 December 2014.