EN ECB-PUBLIC 
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 9 November 2011 
on the payment by the Banco de Portugal of an increase in Portugal’s quota 
with the International Monetary Fund 
(CON/2011/89) 
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 11 October 2011, the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Portuguese Ministry 
of Finance for an opinion on a decision by the Minister  for State and for Finance authorising the increase 
of Portugal’s quota with the International Monetary  Fund (IMF) (hereinafter the ‘draft decision’). 
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 on the third i ndent of Article 2(1) 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 decision relates to the Banco de Portugal. 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. Purpose of the draft decision 
On 15 December 2010, the Board of Governors of th e IMF adopted Resolution No 66-2 proposing, inter 
alia, increases in the quotas of all Fund members under the 14
th General Review of Quotas. The required 
notices of consent to such increases must be  received by the Fund by 31 December 2011. 
Pursuant to Decree-law No 245/89 of 25 August 1989 defining the intervention of the Banco de Portugal 
in the relationship with the Intern ational Monetary Fund, the Minister for Finance, on behalf of the 
Portuguese Government, has to authorise any change in the national quota after consulting the Banco de 
Portugal2.  
The aim of the draft decision is to authorise the Banc o de Portugal to pay the increase of Portugal’s quota 
from special drawing rights (SDR) 1 029,7 million to SDR 2 060,1 million. As stated in the Explanatory Memorandum attached to the consultation letter, 25% of the proposed quota increase must be paid in 
reserve assets and the remainder is payable in euro.  
Article 19(b) of the Organic Law on the Banco de Portugal
3 expressly states that the prohibition of 
monetary financing enshrined in Article 18 thereof do es not apply to the financing of obligations of the 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.  
2  Article 2(3). 
3  Approved by Law 5/98, of 31  January, as last amended. 
ECB-PUBLIC  
2 State towards the IMF. Thus, it is incumbent on the Banco de Portugal to make the ‘necessary deliveries 
in SDR, other members’ curre ncy and euro’ on its own account4. Furthermore, Portugal’s contribution to 
the IMF and the Banco de Portugal liabilities to the IM F are included in the Banco de Portugal’s balance 
sheet.  
 2. General observations  The ECB notes that the Banco de Portugal is res ponsible for paying any increases in Portugal’s IMF 
quota upon the authorisation of the Minister for Finance.  
Several ECB opinions
5 have noted that the tasks performed by a national central bank (NCB) must 
comply with the monetary financing prohibition unde r Article 123 of the Treaty and Council Regulation 
(EC) No 3603/93 of 13 December 1993 specifying definitions for the application of the prohibitions referred to referred to in Article  104 and Article 104(b)(1) [now Ar ticle 123 and Article 125(1) of the 
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union]
6. Pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 3603/93, 
the financing by NCBs of obligatio ns falling upon the public sector vis-à-vis the IMF is not regarded as a 
credit facility within the meaning of Article 123 of th e Treaty. Therefore, the ECB notes that the payment 
by the Banco de Portugal of the proposed increase in Portugal’s quota does not infringe the monetary financing prohibition.  
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.    Done at Frankfurt am Main, 9 November 2011. 
 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Mario DRAGHI 
                                                 
4  Article 2(1) of Decree-law No 245/89.  
5  See Opinions CON/1997/16, CON/2005/29, CON/2009/5,  CON/2009/33, CON/2009/35, CON/2009/41, CON/2009/100, 
CON/2010/13, CON/2010/15, CON/2010/ 22, CON/2010/40, CON/2010/74, C ON/2011/10 and CON/2011/68. All 
Opinions are availabl e on the ECB’ s website at www.ecb.europa.eu 
6  OJ L 332, 31.12.1993, p. 1.