EN ECB-PUBLIC  
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 30 September 2011 
on minimum reserves 
(CON/2011/75) 
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 16 August 2011 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from Česká národní banka 
(CNB) for an opinion on a draft provision of th e Czech National Bank sti pulating the terms and 
conditions for creating minimum reserves (hereinafter the ‘draft provision’). 
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 Article 2(2)  of Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on 
the consultation of the European Central Bank by  national authorities regarding draft legislative 
provisions1, as the draft provision relates to instruments of monetary policy of a Member State that has 
not adopted the euro. In accordance wi th 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.  Purpose of the draft provision 
The draft provision will replace CNB provision No 2 of 23 September 2003, stipulating the terms and 
conditions for creating minimum reserves. Among ot her changes to the CNB provision, the draft 
provision extends to credit unions the obligation to hold minimum reserves2, which currently applies only 
to banks and foreign bank branches, following the CNB Bank Board’s decision of 12 May 2011. The draft provision covers, among other things, the reserv e base, reserve ratio, compliance with the reserve 
requirement, remuneration, a sanction for non-compli ance with the reserve requirement and the holding 
of minimum reserves in the event of the winding-up, c onversion, transfer of the business or division of a 
bank or credit union. The text has been simplified
3 and refined in line with chang es to related legislation.   
2. General observations  
Although Member States that have not adopted the eu ro retain their powers in the field of monetary 
policy, including in connection with their minimum r eserves frameworks, it is nevertheless beneficial to 
achieve consistency with the Eurosystem minimum r eserves framework so that their credit institutions 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.  
2  Under Law No 6/1993 Coll. on Česká národní banka (hereinafter the ‘CNB Law’), CNB may require banks, foreign bank 
branches and credit unions to hold minimum reserves. The CNB Law also provides the basic conditions for minimum 
reserves and authorises CNB to a dopt a provision in this respect.  
3  Technical details will be specified separately in CNB’s O fficial Information published in respect of the draft provision 
(see, for example, Article 2(4) and Article  5(1) and (4) of the draft provision).  
ECB-PUBLIC 
2 become acquainted with the reserve requirements that  will apply to them following the adoption of the 
euro in the Member State where they are establis hed. The legal framework for the Eurosystem’s 
minimum reserve system consists of: (i) Article 19 of  the Statute of the European System of Central 
Banks and of the European Central Bank; (ii) C ouncil Regulation (EC) No 2531/98 of 23 November 1998 
concerning the application of minimum reserves by the European Central Bank4; (iii) Regulation 
ECB/2003/9 of 12 September 2003 on the application of minimum reserves5; and (iv) in relation to the 
definition and calculation of the reserve base, Re gulation ECB/2008/32 of 19 December 2008 concerning 
the balance sheet of the moneta ry financial institutions sector6. Article 11 and Annex III to Regulation 
ECB/2008/32 require the use of statistical inform ation by credit institutions reported under this 
Regulation for minimum reserves purposes.   
3. Specific observations  
3.1 Under the draft provision, the credit instituti ons’ minimum reserves calculations may be revised 
during the reserve maintenance period, in partic ular in case of corrections made to erroneous 
reporting of liabilities in the statistical statements. In  this context, the ECB would like to point out 
that the Eurosystem’s minimum reserves framewo rk considers the credit institutions’ minimum 
reserves calculations to be ‘frozen’ at the start of the relevant reserve maintenance period. 
3.2 Finally, the ECB understands that the statistical reporting requirements used to calculate the reserve 
base of banks and foreign bank branches are ali gned with Regulation ECB/2008/32, and that the 
CNB is preparing an amendment to the statistical reporting requirements for credit unions for the purpose of calculating credit unions’ minimum reserves.  
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.    Done at Frankfurt am Main, 30 September 2011.  
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Jean-Claude TRICHET 
                                                 
4  OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 1.  
5  OJ L 250, 2.10.2003, p. 10.  
6  OJ L 15, 20.1.2009, p. 14.