EUROPEAN MONETARY INSTITUTE
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN MONETARY INSTITUTE ON THE PROPOSED
AMENDMENT OF ARTICLES 45 AND 56, PARAGRAPH 5, OF THE STATUTES OF
THE BANK OF GREECE (CON/94/6)
1 With a view to Article 109f(6) of the Treaty on European Union, Article 5.3 of the EMI's Statute a nd
Council Decision 93/71/EC of 22 November 1993, on 29 August 1994 the Bank of Greece submitted to
the EMI for consultation a proposal for the amendment of Articles 45 and 56, paragraph 5, of its
Statutes. In doing so, the Bank of Greece acted primarily on its own behalf being the initiator of the
amendment which will be submitted for approval to its General Meeting of Shareholders and which is
subsequently to be ratified by law. The Bank of Greece did not request the EMI to deliver its opinion
before a specific date.
2 The proposed amendment of the above Articles deals with certain financial relations between the Bank
of Greece and the Greek government. It provides for a system in which the State may keep its accounts
with the Bank of Greece which shall  pay interest thereon and will be entitled  to a remuneration for the
service rendered to the State. The interest rate and the remuneration are to be agreed upon between the
Bank of Greece and the Greek Government. In the former arrangement, the State was obliged  to keep
its accounts with the Bank of Greece, interest was not paid (except for interest on funds held abroad for
which the remuneration was pre-determined by Article 45), while no remuneration was received by the
Bank for its services.
3 The EMI's c ompetence to deliver an opinion in this consultation is based on Article 1, second indent, of
Council Decision 93/71/EC as the change of the Statutes affects the relationship between the Bank of
Greece and the Government of Greece. The proposed amendment is a first step towards a "draft
legislative provision" in the sense of Article 1 of Council Decision 93/71/EC. The Bank of Greece clearly
has an interest in obtaining the EMI's opinion at a relatively early stage in the amendment procedure and
this interest of the "initiating authority" is reflected in Article 3 of Council Decision 93/71/EC. Therefore,
the EMI does not see any objections to giving its opinion on the proposed amendment at this stage.
4 As far as the substance of the proposed amendment of A rticles 45 and 56, paragraph 5, of the Statutes is
concerned, it does not give rise to any issues which, from the EMI's point of view, are not in compliance
with the Treaty on European Union or its underlying principles. In particular, the change in the regime on
holding accounts with the Bank of Greece does not conflict with the provisions of Article 21 of the
Statute of the ESCB and ECB and, moreover, introduces a more market-oriented approach. In the spirit
of Articles 3a and 102a of the Treaty, it might be desirable to clarify that interest paid on balances of
Government accounts and the cost for the administration of such accounts should be broadly consistent
with normal market conditions and practice. Finally, it is noted that interest paid on Government
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accounts is not susceptible to deduction from the Bank of Greece's monetary income in Stage 3 of EMU
in accordance with Article 32.4 of the Statute of the ESCB/ECB.
21 September 1994