EN 
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 30 July 2004 
at the request of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank   
on a draft regulation of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank governing balance of payments 
reporting with the exception of services and transfers 
(CON/2004/26) 
 1. On 9 June 2004, the European Central Bank (E CB) received a request from the Oesterreichische 
Nationalbank (OeNB) for an opinion on a draft regulation of the OeNB governing balance of 
payments reporting with the exception of services and transfers ( Meldeverordnung ZABIL 1/2004 
der Oesterreichi schen Nationalbank ) (hereinafter the ‘draft regulation’). 
2. The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on the fourth indent 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 provisions
1, as the draft regulation relates to the 
collection, compilation and distribution of mone tary, financial, banking, payment systems and 
balance of payments statistics. In accordance with the first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of 
Procedure of the European Central Bank, th e Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 
3. The reporting requirements defined in the draft re gulation cover transactions that reporting agents 
undertake and positions that they hold vis-à-vis non-r esidents, related income as well as transfers of 
assets between residents and non-residents entered in the capital account. The draft regulation will 
form part of the new reporting system in Aust ria in the area of balance of payments and 
international investment position statistics (herei nafter ‘cross-border statistics’), and reflects a 
general change to a system that relies predomin antly on direct reporting by resident legal entities 
that conduct cross-border transactions . Nevertheless, indirect reporting by custodians also forms an 
integral part of the new system. 
4. The ECB welcomes the initiative of adjusting the reporting system in Austria, which, whilst 
reducing the reporting burden falling on the bankin g sector and financial intermediaries, should 
ensure the quality of the data contributed  to euro area cross-border statistics.  
5. Moreover, the ECB welcomes the fact that the Oe NB collects and compiles cross-border statistics 
in a manner compliant with the responsibilities of  national central banks as set out in Guideline 
ECB/2004/15 of 16 July 2004 on the statistical re porting requirements of the European Central 
                                                      
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
2 Bank in the field of balance of payments and in ternational investment position statistics and the 
international reserves template2, and in particular Article 4.2 thereof.  
6. The ECB also welcomes the provision in Austrian legislation for the use of  International Securities 
Identification Numbers (ISIN). The use of such internationally accepted securities identification 
numbers will be required for compiling statisti cs on euro area balance of payments and the 
international investment position on a security-b y-security basis. In this context, the ECB 
specifically acknowledges the assignment of a standard ‘internal’ identifier where no ISIN code is available. 
7. The ECB confirms that it has no objection to the competent national authorities making this 
opinion publicly available at their discretion. Th is opinion will be published on the ECB’s website 
six months after the date of its adoption. 
  Done at Frankfurt am Main, 30 July 2004. 
 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Jean-Claude TRICHET 
                                                     
 
2  [To be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. ]