EN 
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 25 June 2010 
on extending government guarantees to banks and other institutions and the prolongation of the 
State recapitalisation scheme 
(CON/2010/50) 
 Introduction and legal basis
 
On 20 May 2010, the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Swedish Ministry of 
Finance for an opinion on a draft ordinance am ending Ordinance 2008:819 on government guarantees to 
banks etc. (hereinafter the ‘draft ordinance on govern ment guarantees’) and a draft ordinance (hereinafter 
the ‘draft ordinance on capital contributions’) am ending Ordinance SFS 2009:46 on capital contributions 
to solvent banks and others. 
The ECB’s competence to deliver an  opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and the sixth indent  of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC of 
29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Ce ntral Bank by national authorities regarding draft 
legislative provisions1, as the draft ordinance relates to rules app licable to financial institutions insofar as 
they materially influence the stability of financial institutions and markets. In  accordance with the first 
sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council 
has adopted this opinion. 
 1.  Background 
1.1  Ordinance 2008:819 on government guarantees to ba nks etc. was adopted by the Swedish Ministry 
of Finance on 29 October 2008. The ECB was consulted on Ordinance 2008:819 at the draft stage and adopted its Opinion CON/2008/62 on 29 October 2008
2. Subsequently the ECB adopted the 
following opinions on proposed amendments to Ordinance 2008:819: Opinions CON/2009/30, CON/2009/79 and CON/2010/29. 
The Swedish Government now proposes some changes Ordinance 2008:819 and a prolongation of 
its validity by six months, i.e. that guarantees may be issued until 31 December 2010. 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.  
2  All ECB opinions are published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
2 1.2  Ordinance SFS 2009:46 on capital contributions to so lvent banks and others entered into force on 
17 February 2009. The ECB adopted the following opinions on proposed amendments to Ordinance SFS 2009:46: Opinions CON/2009/58 and CON/2010/11. 
The Swedish Government now proposes prolonging  the validity of Ordinance SFS 2009:46 until 
17 February 2011. 
1.3  On 27 May 2010 the Swedish Government en acted an amended draft ordinance on government 
guarantees, compared to the version submitted to  the ECB, and the draft ordinance on capital 
contributions. 
1.4  On 1 June 2010, the ECB received an updated request for an opinion by the Swedish Ministry of 
Finance, containing a revised wording of th e draft ordinance on government guarantees. 
 2. The appropriate time to consult the ECB  
2.1 The ECB points out that, in cases of particular urgency which do not allow for a normal 
consultation period, the consulting authority may indicate the urgency in the consultation request 
and ask for a shorter deadline for the ECB’s opini on to be adopted. This does not prejudice the 
consulting authority’s duty under Article 127(4) an d 282(5) of the Treaty to consult the ECB on 
national draft legislative provisions falling within its fields of competence in due course of the 
national legislation process. The second sentence of  Article 4 of Decision 98/415/EC provides that 
the ECB must be consulted ‘at an appropriate stage’  in the legislative process. This implies that the 
consultation should take place at a point in the le gislative process which a ffords the ECB sufficient 
time to examine the draft legislative provisions an d to adopt its opinion in all required language 
versions, and which also enables the relevant na tional authorities to take the ECB’s opinion into 
consideration before the provisions are adopted. Article 3(4) of Decision 98/415/EC also obliges Member States to suspend the a doption process for draft legislative provisions, pending receipt of 
the ECB’s opinion. In this case the consulting authority did not indicate the urgency in the 
consultation request and did not ask the ECB to  adopt its opinion within a shorter deadline. 
2.2 The ECB would appreciate the Ministry of Fi nance giving due consider ation to honouring their 
obligation to consult the ECB in the futu re, in accordance with Decision 98/415/EC. 
 3.  Purpose of the draft ordinances  
In the memorandum accompanying the draft ordinan ce, the Swedish Government states that there is 
currently no demand for government guarantees a nd that Swedish banks are well capitalised. The 
Swedish Government views the guarantee programs as a standby insurance policy that can provide banks 
access to medium term financing if conditions were to deteriorate. The Government also stresses the 
importance of support measures to be phased out gradua lly to facilitate institutions’ return to market 
financing. 
3  
4.  General observations  
The draft ordinance on government guarantees introduces one new point to Article 9 of 
Ordinance 2008:819 whereby institutions, at certain th resholds, are obliged to design a plan concerning 
how to return to normal market financing. The draf t ordinance on government guarantees also introduces 
a new Article 12 a on how to calculate the fee in accordance with Articles 11 and 12.  
The ECB notes that the Swedish measures are in line  with guidance from the European Commission for 
extending guarantee schemes beyond 30 June 2010. 
The ECB reiterates its view3 that coordination of the duration of  national financial support schemes across 
the Union is of crucial importance in order to ensure a level playing field4. In addition, the ECB notes the 
need for national support measures to be temporary in nature5. 
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.    Done at Frankfurt am Main, 25 June 2010. 
 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Jean-Claude TRICHET 
                                                 
3  See Opinion CON/2010/29. 
4  See Opinions CON/2009/24, paragraph 3.1, CON/2009/54,  paragraph 2.5.2, and CON/2009/73, paragraph 3.2. 
5  See Opinions CON/2009/24, paragraph 2.2, CON/2009/ 62, paragraph 3.3, CON/2009/ 73, paragraph 3.2, and 
CON/2009/92, paragraph 3.6.