EN ECB -PUBLIC  
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK  
of 19 December 2013  
on the credit register  
(CON/20 13/93) 
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 22 November 2013 , the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from Latvijas Banka  for an 
opinion on a draft law amending t he Law on the credit register  (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 a nd the third  indent of Article  2(1) of Council Decision 9 8/415/EC of 
29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national authorities regarding draft 
legislative provisions1, as the draft law relate s to Latvijas Banka . 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 Law on the credit register2 (hereinafter the ‘Law’)  provide s financial institutions with 
additional possibilities for assess ing the cr editworthiness of their customers  and promote s 
responsible lending and borrowing . The Law enables : (a) the Financial and Capital Markets 
Commission (FCMC) to obtain data required for the supervision of financial market participants ; 
(b) Latvijas Banka to u se credit register data for statistical purposes ; and (c) both institutions to 
obtain data for macroeconomic analysis. The Law also allows  these institutions  to share this data 
with domestic  and foreign institutions . The credit register is operated by Latv ijas Banka.  
1.2 The purpose of the draft law is, inter alia , to broaden  the objectives of the Law by ‘contribut ing to 
the fulfil ment of  the tasks of the European System of Central Banks ’ (ESCB) , and to allow Latvijas 
Banka and the FCMC to provide credit re gister data to the institutions of the European Union  for 
the purposes stipulated in the Law . 
 
2. Specific observations  
2.1 The ECB welcomes the explicit authoris ation for Latvian authorities  to provide credit register data 
to, inter alia , institutions of the Union , and the fact that the draft law specifica lly provides that one 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
2  The ECB was consulted on the Law and issued Opinion  CON/2011/47. All ECB opinions are available on the ECB’s 
website at www.ecb.europa.eu.  
ECB -PUBLIC  
2 of the objectives of the Law is to contribute to the tasks of the ESCB . The ECB notes that these 
provisions will allow the data collected in the Latvian credit register to be shared with the ECB and 
other institutions of the Union listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on the European Union and , in this 
context , will support  the ESCB tasks laid down  in Article  127 of the Treaty on the Functioning of 
the European Union, including the task laid down in Article 127(5) of th at Treaty , i.e. the ESCB’s 
contribut ion to the smooth conduct of policies pursued by the competent authorities relating to the 
prudential supervision of credit institutions and the stability of the financial system . 
2.2 The ECB  understands  that the draft law  also allow s data from the Latvian credit register to be 
shared with other bodies and agencies of the Union3, such as the European Systemic Risk Board , 
the European Banking Authority and other relevant bodies established at Union level , such as the 
European Stability Mechanism and the future European Single Resolution Mechanism.  
2.3 The reference to ESCB tasks in Article 2 of the draft law could be complemented with an explicit 
reference to the tasks conferred on the ECB in th e area of prudential supervision, such as the tasks 
referred to in Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/20134. 
2.4 Currently , Eurosystem central banks are examining the feasibility of introducing , in the longer 
term, harmonised arrangements for collecti ng and e xchang ing granular credit data within the 
Eurosystem . This  may be achieved by way of specific ECB legal acts5. Such arrangements will also 
apply to Latvijas Banka on its entry into the Eurosystem , and further adjustments of the Law might 
be required . 
2.5 Finally , the ECB reiterates that other relevant national regulation s already in force may also need to 
be amended  in line with the above considerations6. 
 
This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.  
 
 
Done at Frankfurt am Main, 19 December 2013.  
[signed]  
 
The President of the ECB  
Mario DRAGHI  
                                                 
3  The ECB understands that t he Latvian term ‘institutions ’ used in Article 3 of the draft law encompasses any institutions, 
bodies and agencies.  
4  Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013  of 15 October 2013 conferring specific tasks on the European Central Bank 
concerning policies relating to the pruden tial supervision of credit institutions (OJ L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 63).  
5  For example ECB legal acts c omplementing the Memorandum of Understanding on the exchange of information among 
national central credit registers  for the purpose of passing it on to re porting institutions , published in April 2010 and 
available on the ECB ’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu . 
6  See Opinion CON/2011/47, paragraph 3.4 , where a reference is made to the detailed regulation of Latvijas Banka on the 
content of data to be included i n and provided from the credit register as well as the procedure for submitting and 
receiving data.