EN ECB-PUBLIC  
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 7 February 2014 
on transmission of data necessa ry to define monetary policy 
(CON/2014/11) 
 
Introduction and legal basis 
On 13 January 2014, the European Central Bank (ECB ) received a request from the Polish Minister for 
Finance for an opinion on a draft ordinance of the Fi nance Minister on the procedures, scope and time 
frame for the transmission to Narodowy Bank Polski of  data necessary to define monetary policy and to 
make periodical assessments of the m onetary situation of the State (her einafter the ‘draft ordinance’). 
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, fourth  and sixth indents of Article 2(1) 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 law relates to Narodowy Bank 
Polski (NBP), compilation and distribution of moneta ry, financial, banking, pa yment systems and balance 
of payments statistics, and rules app licable to financial institutions insofa r as they materially influence the 
stability of financial institutions and markets and inst ruments of monetary policy. In accordance with the 
first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Pro cedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing 
Council has adopted this opinion. 
 1.  Purpose of the draft law 
1.1 The draft ordinance is a recast of the Ordinan ce of the Finance Minister of 16 December 2009 on 
the procedures, scope and time frame for the tr ansmission to Narodowy Bank Polski of data 
necessary to define monetary policy and to make periodical assessments of the monetary situation 
of the State
2 (hereinafter the ‘recast ordinance’). 
1.2 The draft ordinance implements Article  23(2c) of the Law on Narodowy Bank Polski3, which 
authorises the Finance Minister to im pose obligations to report data used, inter alia , for monetary 
policy purposes and for monetary statistics pur poses, on non-banking entities which are deemed 
significant enough on the basis of their position and sh are in the financial market. Pursuant to the 
recast ordinance, such reporting obligations are currently imposed on investment funds. The draft ordinance: (a) recasts the provisions relating to the reporting obligations of investment funds; 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
2 Published in Dziennik Ustaw  (Dz. U.) of 2009 No 221, item 1740. 
3 Dz. U. of 2013, item 908. 
ECB-PUBLIC  
2 (b) extends reporting obligations to cover credit unions also, inter alia , in view of the fact that 
credit unions are now subject to NBP’s minimum reserve requirements4; and (c) sets out the 
procedures for the reporting of minimum reserve-r elated data by individual credit unions to the 
National Credit Union, and of aggregated data by the National Credit Union to NBP. This data will 
then be used by NBP to verify the National Credit Union’s calculation of the required minimum 
reserve on a consolidated basis5. 
 2. The appropriate time to consult the ECB The ECB has underlined in several opinions that ‘eve n in cases of extreme urgency national authorities 
are not relieved of their duty to consult the ECB and to allow sufficient time to take the ECB’s views into 
account, as laid down in Articles 127(4)  and 282(5) of the Treaty’. The re quest for an opinion on the draft 
ordinance was received by the ECB very shortly before the entry into force of the provisions that trigger 
the above-mentioned credit unions’ repor ting obligations and the planned entry into force of the draft 
ordinance. The ECB would appreciate it if the consulting authority would consult the ECB in the future on an earlier stage in order to allow sufficient time for its views to be taken into account in accordance 
with Council Decision 98/415/EC. 
 3. Specific observations 3.1 In its opinions relating to the Law of 5 November 2009 on credit unions, the ECB advocated 
including credit unions in NBP’s minimum reserves regime
6. The ECB welcomes the fact that such 
inclusion has now entered into force, and that the related reporting obligations7 are imposed on 
credit unions under the draft ordinance. Whereas, until now, credit unions’ reporting obligations for 
monetary statistics purposes were provided for by means of contractual measures, the ECB welcomes the fact that reporting obligations have  been clarified by replacing contractual measures 
with regulatory arrangements
8.  
3.2 The ECB understands that, unlike reporting obligati ons of banks that are defined in an instrument 
of NBP9, reporting obligations of non-bank financial in stitutions, due to limitations imposed on 
                                                 
4  See Article 12(2) and Articles 38-41 of the Law on Narodowy Bank Polski as amended, with effect from 
27 January 2014, by Articles 83 and 93 of the Law of 5 Nove mber 2009 on credit unions (D z. U. of 2012, item. 855). 
5 Pursuant to Article 38(5) of the Law on Narodowy Bank Pols ki, credit unions hold minimum reserves with the National 
Credit Union, a central association to which all credit uni ons are affiliated, and the National Credit Union holds its own 
reserves and credit unions’ consolidat ed minimum reserves on a central ac count maintained for it by NBP. 
6 See paragraphs 2.1 to 2.5 of Opinion CON/2009/60 and pa ragraph 2.1 of Opinion CON/2013/5. All ECB opinions are 
published on the ECB’s webs ite at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
7 See reporting templates PD001 to PD003 in Annex 2 to the draft ordinance. 
8 See reporting templates PD004 to PD006 in Annex 2 to the draft ordinance. 
9 See resolution of the NBP Management Board No 53/ 2011 of 22 September 2011 on the procedure and specific 
principles of transmission by banks to Narodowy Bank Polski of data necessary to define monetary policy and to make 
periodical assessments of the monetary s ituation of the State, financial situati on of banks and risks within the banking 
sector (published in Dziennik Urz ędowy NBP  of 2011 No 14, item 15). 
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3 NBP’s legislative powers10, are defined by a ministerial ordinance. The ECB welcomes the 
declaration of the Polish authorities that the draf t ordinance aims at achieving consistency between 
these two reporting regimes, as well as their alignment with the evolution of the ESCB’s reporting framework, in view of the future pa rticipation of NBP in the Eurosystem
11. 
3.3 The ECB notes in this context that the ESCB’s reporting framework for non-bank entities is 
currently evolving. This includes, with effect  from 1 January 2015: (a) replacing the reporting 
obligations currently imposed on investment funds  under Regulation ECB/2007/8 of 27 July 2007 
concerning statistics on the assets and liabilities of investment funds12 by the newly adopted 
Regulation ECB/2013/38 of 18 October 2013 concerni ng statistics on the assets and liabilities of 
investment funds13; and (b) replacing the reporting obligations currently imposed on securitisation 
vehicles under Regulation ECB/2008/30 of 19 Dece mber 2008 concerning statistics on the assets 
and liabilities of financial vehicle corpora tions engaged in securitisation transactions14 by 
Regulation ECB/2013/40 of 18 October 2013 concerni ng statistics on the assets and liabilities of 
financial vehicle corporations engaged in securitisation transactions15. The ECB invites the Polish 
authorities to adequately consider the implica tions of these changes for the draft ordinance. 
3.4 The ECB notes that, as part of another legislative initiative16, the above mentioned Article 23(2c) of 
the Law on Narodowy Bank Polski, on the basis of which the draft ordinance will be issued, may be amended by adding ‘analysis aimed at mitigating systemic risk’ to the list of purposes for which information provided by investment funds and cred it unions may be used by NBP. This additional 
macro-prudential purpose may have to be reflected in the scope of reporting requirements set out in 
the annexes to the draft ordinance. 
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.   Done at Frankfurt am Main, 7 February 2014. 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Mario DRAGHI 
                                                 
10  See Article 23(4) of the Law on Narodowy Bank Polski, the wo rding of which results from pa ragraph 3 of judgement of 
the Constitutional Tribunal in case K 25/ 99 (Dz. U. of 2000 No 53, item 648). 
11 See pages 1 and 4 of the explanatory memorandum to the re cast ordinance. See also paragraphs 2 and 3 of Opinion 
CON/2008/53. 
12  OJ L 211, 11.8.2007, p. 8.  
13  OJ L 297, 7.11.2013, p. 73.  
14  OJ L 15, 20.1.2009, p. 1.  
15  OJ L 297, 7.11.2013, p. 107.  
16 See Article 57(2) of the draft law on macro-pruden tial oversight of the national financial system.