EN ECB-PUBLIC  
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 2 August 2017 
on access to the central credit register and the register of bank accounts 
(CON/2017/28) 
 
Introduction and legal basis 
On 3 July 2017 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from Българска  народна  банка  
(Bulgarian National Bank) (BNB), following correspondence exchanged between BNB and the Minister of 
Finance, for an opinion on a draft law on payment services and payment systems (hereinafter the ‘draft 
law’). 
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 third indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC1, as 
the draft law relates to BNB. In accordance with th e first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of 
Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 
 1. Purpose of the draft law 
1.1. The main purpose of the draft law is to implement Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council
2 in national law. 
1.2. The draft law also amends the Law on Българска  народна  банка  (Bulgarian National Bank)3 by 
repealing the provision pursuant to which BNB may open cash accounts for primary dealers in government securities, sub-depositories of go vernment securities and other entities for the 
purposes of cash settlement on government securities transactions by investment intermediaries. 
The explanatory memorandum states that the practice of keeping such cash accounts has been 
discontinued by BNB and that non-bank partici pants in the settlement system for government 
securities can instead ensure cash settlement through commercial banks that participate in the 
Real-time Interbank Gross Settlement System, wh ich is the national real-time gross settlement 
system, and in the second generation of the Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer system (TARGET 2). 
1.3. The draft law also empowers BNB to adopt an ordinance defining the procedure under which the 
government and municipal authorities, as well as  legal entities and natural persons, provide 
                                                 
1  Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42). 
2  Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services 
in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35). 
3 Published in Darjaven Vestnik  No 46, 10 June 1997. 
ECB-PUBLIC  
2 information to BNB in relation to the compilation of balance of payments, monetary and interest 
rate statistics and financial account statistics. 
1.4. The draft law also amends the Law on credit institutions4 with regard to access to the central credit 
register and the register of bank accounts operated by BNB. In particular, the draft law seeks to achieve a unified approach to the provision of access to information contained in the two registers. 
Only certain State bodies shall have access to the central credit register in order to fulfil their legal 
tasks. In all other cases access to information in the system shall only be provided pursuant to a 
court ruling for the disclosure of information that is protected by bank secrecy requirements, or with 
the consent of the account holder. 
 
2. General observations  The ECB welcomes the draft law, to the extent t hat it enhances legal certai nty and provides clarity 
regarding the exercise of several of the existing tasks of BNB. 
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 
  
Done at Frankfurt am Main, 2 August 2017. 
 [signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Mario DRAGHI 
                                                 
4  Published in Darjaven Vestnik  No 59, 21 July 2006.