EN 
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 6 April 2011  
on a tax on the total value of a bank’s balance sheet  
(CON/2011/31) 
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 23 March 2011, the European Central Bank (ECB) re ceived a request from the Slovenian Ministry of 
Finance for an opinion on a draft law on a tax on the tota l value of a bank’s balance sheet (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 sixth 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 contains rules applicable  to financial institutions insofar as they 
materially influence the stability of financial ins titutions and markets. 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 
The purpose of the draft law is to stimulate banks ’ credit activity and thus ensure that the economy 
acquires the necessary funds in times of economic crisis. The main characteristics of the tax 
proposed by the draft law are the following: (a ) banks providing banking ser vices in Slovenia will 
be subject to the tax; (b) the tax is to be based  on the balance sheet total, calculated as the average 
of balances held on the last day of each month in a calendar year; (c) the tax is payable yearly at the rate of 0,1 % of the balance sheet total; (d) the ta x can be reduced by 0,2 % of the amount of loans 
granted to non-financial corporations and sole  traders, calculated in accordance with the 
methodology laid down by Banka Slovenije; (e) the proceeds of the tax will go to the State budget. 
The draft law is intended to apply from 1 May 2011. 
 2. Duty to consult the ECB 
The Ministry has asked for the ECB opinion to be delivered within three weeks. In accordance with 
Article 3 of Decision 98/415/EC, the consulting aut horities may, if they consider it necessary, set 
the ECB a time limit for the submission of its opinion which may not be less than one month. In 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
2 cases of extreme urgency, however, it can be requested  that an opinion be delivered within an even 
shorter time limit. The consulting authorities should limit such requests to highly exceptional cases and must expressly state the reasons for the urgenc y of the matter. The consultation request in the 
present consultation did not contain any such reasons; it only stated that the Slovenian Parliament 
should be allowed to adopt the draft law in due cour se. The ECB invites the Ministry to consider if 
it could systemically allocate an appropriate time for consultation with the ECB at an earlier point 
in the national legislative procedure. This will help to ensure that sufficient time is available for the 
ECB to provide its expert advice on draft legisla tive provisions concerning matters within the scope 
of its competence.  
 3. Implications of the draft law on economic activity and financial stability 
3.1 The ECB understands that the Slovenian Governme nt aims to provide banks with an incentive to 
grant loans to the non-financial sector by providi ng for a reduction in the taxation of their balance 
sheet by a certain percentage of the amount of loan s granted to non-financial corporations and sole 
traders
2. The ECB recognises the need to maintain the fl ow of funds to this sector of the economy, 
but cautions against incentives in loan provision that may lead to distortions in the efficient 
allocation of loan supply and further sectoral imba lances in the real economy. The availability of 
credit by banks should be based on risk and creditworthiness criteria.  
3.2  The ECB has taken into consideration the inten tion of the Slovenian Government to ensure that 
sufficient funds are available to the economy in ti mes of financial crisis. However, in the ECB’s 
opinion, the risk to financial stability is that the provision of credit from the banks is steered by the 
potential tax benefits. The provision of credit shoul d primarily rely on a robust prudential system 
and full compliance with requirements for the cred itworthiness of borrowers. Such an approach 
would contribute to the appropriate distribution of  loans in the economy, and this in turn would 
safeguard the banks’ balance sheet from future pot ential losses. Over a period of time, this would 
also aid in fostering sustainable financial stability.  
3.3 In light of the above, the ECB recommends a comprehensive impact assessment of the proposed 
measure to ensure that the public benefit from the proposed tax outweighs any potential negative 
implications for banks, their customers and the economy. 
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.  Done at Frankfurt am Main, 6 April 2011. 
[signed] 
The President of the ECB 
Jean-Claude TRICHET 
                                                 
2  Article 8 of the draft law.