EN 
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 21 May 2010 
on certain provisions relating to the Banque de France 
(CON/2010/44) 
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 19 April 2010 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the French Ministry for 
Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment for an opini on on certain provisions of a draft law ratifying 
Order No 2010-76 of 21 January 2010 merging the banking and insurance licensing and supervisory 
authorities  (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/EC of 
29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Ce ntral Bank by national authorities regarding draft 
legislative provisions1, as the draft law relates to the Banque de France. 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 law 
1.1 The draft law provides for the ratification of the order that created the new Prudential Control 
Authority2. It modifies the composition of the Banque de France’s General Council (hereinafter the 
‘General Council’) and provides that the Pruden tial Control Authority’s Vice-President becomes a 
member of the General Council3. It also clarifies that the Banque de France, the Prudential Control 
Authority and the Financial Markets Authority are to cooperate with each other and that they may 
share the information necessary for the performance of their tasks4. 
 
2. General observations  
2.1  The ECB understands that the reason for th e Prudential Control Authority’s Vice-President 
becoming a member of the General Council is to  strengthen the links between the Prudential 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
2  See Opinion CON/2010/4. All opinions are publis hed on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
3  Article L. 142-3 of the French Monetary and Financial Code as ame nded by the draft law. 
4  Article L. 631-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code as ame nded by the draft law. 
2 Control Authority and the Banque de  France. The General Council is, inter alia , responsible for the 
administration of the Banque de France, mana ging the Banque de France’s activities other than 
those related to the European System of Centra l Banks (ESCB), deciding on the use of own funds,  
and drawing-up projected and ame nded expenditure budgets to ensure  that the Banque de France is 
allocated the necessary resources for carrying out the tasks delegated to it due to its ESCB 
participation5. The ECB understands that the General Counc il will therefore be the competent body 
within Banque de France for deciding on the alloca tion of additional contributions to the Prudential 
Control Authority6. In this context, the ECB considers th at the participation of the Prudential 
Control Authority’s Vice-President in the Genera l Council does not affect the Banque de France’s 
financial independence7. 
2.2  The ECB welcomes the provision that provid es for information sharing between the national 
supervisory authorities and the Banque de France for the performance of their tasks. The ECB 
understands that, prior to the establishment of th e Prudential Control Authority and the setting-up 
of structured collaboration between the Prudentia l Control Authority and the Financial Markets 
Authority, the national supervisory authorities a nd the Banque de France did cooperate and were 
able to share the information required for their r espective tasks. Information sharing remains crucial 
following the establishment of the Prudential Contro l Authority as an independent administrative 
authority closely connected to the Banque de France. 
 
This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 
  Done at Frankfurt am Main, 21 May 2010. 
 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Jean-Claude TRICHET 
 
                                                 
5 The General Council is also responsible for examining issues  relating to the terms of empl oyment of staff and approving 
the Banque de France’s balance sheet and accounts, allocating profits and fixing the State’s share of the dividend. See 
Article L.141-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code. 
6  Article L. 612-18 of the French Monetary and Financial Code. 
7  The ECB’s Convergence Report 2008, p. 20. The principle of  financial independence implie s that a national central bank 
must have sufficient means not only to perform ESCB-related tasks but also its own nationa l tasks (e.g. financing its 
administration and own operations).