EN
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
of 18 December 2002
at the request of the French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry
on a draft law on financial security
(CON/2002/32)
1. On 13 November 2002 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the French
Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry for an opinion on certain aspects of a draft law onfinancial security (the draft law). The provisions of the draft law submitted for consultation by theFrench authorities together with the statement of reasons deals with the modernisation ofsupervisory authorities (Title 1) and the security of savers and insured persons (Title 2).
2. The ECBs competence to deliver an opinion is based on Article 105(4) of the Treaty establishing
the European Community and on the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth indents of Article 2(1) ofCouncil Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank bynational authorities regarding draft legislative provisions
1. The French authorities refer in
particular, in the consultation letter, to the sixth indent of Article 2(1) of  Decision 98/415/EC which
concerns the rules applicable to financial institut ions "in so far as they materially influence the
stability of financial institutions". The second, thir d, fourth and fifth indents of Article 2(1) should
also be mentioned since certain provisions of the draft law affect a national central bank, and/orconcern statistics, means of payment and payment and settlement systems. Although the ECB doesnot need to be consulted on the implementation of Community directives, some of the provisions of
the draft law that intend to amend the French Mone tary and Financial Code (the Code) in respect of
e-money institutions affect means of payment and payment systems. As a consequence, thisopinion also relates to these provisions. In accordance with the first sentence of Article 17(5) of theRules of Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council of the ECB has adoptedthis opinion.
3. A large part of the draft law relates to the modernisation of the French financial institutional
framework (Title 1 of the draft law). This involves mainly the creation of the Financial MarketsAuthority - Autorité des marchés financiers - (A MF), as a result of the merger of the functions
currently divided amongst the Commission des op érations de bourse (COB), the Conseil des
marchés financiers (CMF) and the Conseil de discip line de la gestion financière (CDGF). This part
                                                     
1 OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.
2of the draft law also deals inter alia  with the reinforcement of cooperation between the Banking
Commission and the Insurance Commission, the simplification of advisory procedures in the fieldof banking, insurance and financial regulation and with emergency situations in the context offinancial markets.
4. This opinion focuses primarily on these amendments as well as on some proposed changes
included in Title 2 of the draft law which concern in particular the rules applying to money marketinstruments and to custody account keepers of financial instruments. Certain aspects of theimplementation of the E-money Directive and a proposed amendment to the Statute of the Banquede France are also considered in the present opinion.
A. The creation of the Financial Markets Authority (AMF)
5. The ECB welcomes the plans to modernise the French financial authorities and to simplify the
French institutional and legal framework for financial regulation. The ECB welcomes in particularthe intention of the French authorities to create the AMF, mainly as a result of the merger of thefunctions currently divided amongst the Commissi on des opérations de bourse (COB), the Conseil
des marchés financiers (CMF) and the Conseil de discipline de la gestion financière (CDGF).
6. The AMF, as an independent administrative authority and a legal person governed by
administrative law, will have a sui generis  status similar to that of the Banque de France. This
authority will be mainly composed of a college of 16 representatives and of an entirely separateSanctions Committee. The ECB welcomes the participation of the Banque de France as a fullmember in the college of the AMF, the composition of which will offer an appropriate balancebetween representatives of the public authorities and of the market. In the ECBs view, the draftlaw should however ensure that the members appointed by the Minister for the College and theSanctions Committee effectively cover the whole spectrum of market participants, i.e. issuers,financial intermediaries, market undertakings, individual and institutional investors but alsorepresentatives of market infrastructure. The ECB also welcomes the entitlement of somerepresentatives of the Banque de France to participate, where required, in the specific ad hoccommissions set up by the College and that the AMF will have the possibility to receive Banque deFrance staff.
7. As regards the missions and functions of the AMF, they are wide since the authority will be
responsible for the protection of savings invested in financial instruments and all other investmentsgiving rise to public offerings, investor information and the smooth functioning of markets forfinancial instruments. Without prejudice to the respective powers of the Banking Commission andof the Banque de France, the AMF will regulate the operation of the markets placed under itscontrol, the persons making public offerings, as well as the persons who, by reason of theirprofessional activity, are involved in operations relating to financial instruments invested by publicofferings, or the persons who provide individual or collective portfolio management services and
3the collective investment undertakings that they manage. The ECB notes that an important element
of modernisation and simplification of the French legal framework in the field of financialregulation will be the adoption by the AMF, for the fulfilment of its tasks, of a single GeneralRegulation which will combine the COB Regulations and the CMF General Regulation andcomplement the provisions of the Monetary and Financial Code (legislative and regulatory parts).This General Regulation will be adopted by the College of the AMF and endorsed by the Ministerof the Economy. It will govern the functioning of the markets under the control of the AMF as wellas the persons making public offerings, take-over bids, business conduct rules and otherprofessional obligations. It will also incorporate rules applicable to investment services providers,market undertakings, clearing houses and their members, and the management activities performedon behalf of third parties and collective investments. The General Regulation will also establish thelegal framework applicable to custody account keeping services of financial instruments (seebelow), central depositories and settlement systems of financial instruments (without prejudice tothe powers of the Banque de France in this area under Article L.141-4 of the Code).
8. The General Regulation of the AMF will govern regulated markets of financial instruments and
financial instruments markets, other than regulated markets. The draft law introduces therefore alegal basis for the regulation of the Alternative Trading System, the current CMF GeneralRegulation being silent on the possibility to regulate non-regulated markets. The ECBunderstands that this provision anticipates to a certain extent the proposal for a directive of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council on investment services and regulated markets adopted bythe European Commission on 19 November 2002
2 which recognises the emergence of a new
generation of organised trading systems alongside regulated markets which should be subjected toobligations designed to preserve the efficient and orderly functioning of financial markets.
9. The ECB notes that the prior consultation of the Banque de France will not be required for the
AMF General Regulation since a representative of the Banque de France appointed by theGovernor will be a full member of the college of the AMF. However, the ECB recommendsretaining, as is currently the case, the possibility for the Banque de France to adopt opinions andrecommendations on the General Regulation where the Banque de France is specifically concerned.
10. In respect of investigation powers, the AMF, in line with the current CMF powers, as provided in
Article L.622-9 of the Code, will ensure, by carry ing out on the spot inspections of documents, that
clearing houses for financial instruments inter alia comply with applicable legislative and
regulatory provisions. This applies also, under the draft law, to the operators of settlement systemsfor financial instruments. The ECB observes that Article 10 of the draft law (amendingArticle L.621-9 of the Code) specifies that these two provisions apply without prejudice to the
powers conferred upon the Banque de France under Article L.141-4 of the Code.
                                                     
2 amending Council Directives 85/611/EEC and 93/6/EEC and European Parliament and Council Directive 2000/12/EC,
COM(2002) 625 final
411. The statement of reasons notes that cooperation and understanding between the banking and
financial authorities constitute a prerequisite for an efficient regulation of the financial sector. Tothis end, the French authorities point out that the AMF and the banking authorities (including theBanque de France and the Banking Commission) will have to conclude a protocol to establishingthe cooperation and information exchange mechanis ms in the areas where legally conferred powers
are shared by these authorities or where they share an interest. This concerns for instance thesupervision of custody account keepers for financial instrument and of members of clearing houses,the activity programmes of investment services providers and the surveillance of the negotiabledebt securities market (see below). The ECB welcomes the fact that the reform of financialauthorities foreseen by the draft law provides th e opportunity to clarify the powers of the different
financial authorities. To the extent this Protocol will affect some Banque de France and Eurosystemfunctions (for instance, in respect of clearing and settlement systems of financial instruments), theECB would appreciate having the possibility to provide comments before the Protocol is formallyadopted.
12. Article 2 of the draft law amending Article L.621.1 of the Code provides that one of the tasks of the
AMF will be to contribute to establishing European and international regulation of these markets.According to the statement of reasons, the purpose of this provision is to recall that the AMF actsin an international context and that this aut hority will actively participate in European or
international fora such as the CESR, IOSCO or the Financial Stability Forum. The ECB welcomesthis provision in so far as it legally acknowledges the European and international role to be playedby the AMF. More generally, in line with the recommendations of the Report of the Committee ofWise Men on the regulation of the European securities markets of 15 February 2001, the creationof a single authority for financial markets, such as the AMF, contributes to the convergence ofregulatory and supervisory structures identified by the Committee of Wise Men as a key conditionfor the success of the Lamfalussy approach to integrated EU financial markets.
13. Lastly, the ECB proposes that the draft law provide for information sharing between the AMF and
central banks, including the national central banks of the ESCB and the ECB, for the purpose of the
performance of their respective tasks. First, the exchange of information with the central banks ofthe Eurosystem involves a cross-border dimension that is not yet acknowledged in the relevantprovisions of the Code. Second, information conveyed to a central bank of the Eurosystem may beshared among the central banks of the Eurosystem. Therefore, a provision could be included in thedraft law allowing the AMF to share information with central banks, including the national centralbanks of the ESCBand the ECB for the purpose of the performance of their respective tasks. Thisproposal is consistent with Article 12(1) of the Directive on the supplementary supervision offinancial conglomerates
3 and with Article 54(6) of the proposal for a directive of the European
                                                     
3 See Common Position (EC) No 52/2002 of 12 September 2002 adopted by the Council [] with a view to adopting a
directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the supplementary supervision of credit institutions, insuranceundertakings and investment firms in a financial conglomerate, OJ C 253 E, 22.10.2002, p. 1. The Directive was adoptedat second reading by the European Parliament on 20 November 2002.
5Parliament and of the Council on investment services and regulated markets (ISD) adopted by the
European Commission on 19 November 20024.
B. Reinforcement of the cooperation between the Banking Commission and the Insurance
Commission and other institutional changes
14. The ECB welcomes the reinforcement, within the draft law, of the existing cooperation between the
Banking Commission and the Insurance Commissi on. In particular, Article L.613-3 of the Code
will be amended to include the Chairman of the Insurance Commission as a member of theBanking Commission. In addition, the Code will provide that the Banking Commission and the
Insurance Commission will meet at least twice a year, and, to the extent necessary, discuss topicsof common interest. The ECB understands that a Charter of Cooperation was concluded betweenthe two authorities on 24 October 2001 which notably allows their respective experts to take jointsupervisory initiatives, in particular as regards on-site inspections. It also provides them with thepossibility of sharing staff and information. For instance, a joint working group was recentlyestablished to study in particular the impact of credit derivatives on financial stability. Thisreinforced cooperation is also in line with the recent legislative and institutional developments atEU level, such as the abovementioned Directive on the supplementary supervision of financialconglomerates and the recent final Report of the Economic and Financial Committee on financialregulation, supervision and stability of 28 November 2002
5 which recommends a strengthened
cross-sectoral activity amongst competent authorities, as a prerequisite for the preservation offinancial stability.
15. As regards the CECEI6, a Committee chaired by the Governor of the Banque de France, Chairman
of the Banking Commission (and including in particular the Director of the Treasury and theChairman of the AMF), the ECB understands th at its composition and core functions are not
substantially affected by the draft law. The CECEI will continue to grant (and withdraw whennecessary) licenses to credit institutions and investment firms (including custody-account keepersof financial instruments). In addition, some amendments are introduced concerning the role of thisCommittee in relation to certain types of companie s providing e-money services (see H below) and
to the activity programmes of investment services providers.
C. Simplification of the banking, insurance and financial regulation advisory procedures
16. The ECB welcomes the provisions of the draft law that will simplify the banking, insurance and
financial regulation advisory procedures. It welcomes in particular the creation of two advisory
                                                     
4 COM(2002) 625 final.
5 EFC/ECFIN/598/02.
6 Comité des établissements de crédit et des entreprises d'investissement.
6Committees, i.e. the Advisory Committee on the Financial Sector (CCSF) and the Advisory
Committee on Financial Legislation and Regulation (CCLRF), since they will contribute toclarifying the French institutional framework in the financial sector for market operators in Franceand abroad. They will also increase the functional convergence between the different areas of thefinancial sector (banking, insurance and investment services sectors).
17. First, the Advisory Committee of the Financial Sector (CCSF) will be common to the banking,
insurance and investment services sectors, taking into account the increasing convergence of issuesin these sectors. This Committee composed of industry and consumer representatives will studyrelationships between companies and users and perform the functions currently exercised by theConseil national du crédit et du titre (CNCT), the Comité consultatif (Advisory Committee) and theCommission consultative de lassurance (Advisory Insurance Commission). It will adopt opinions
and recommendations of a general nature.
Second, the Advisory Committee of Financial Legislation and Regulation  (CCLRF) will replace
the Comité de la réglementation bancaire et financière (CRBF) and the Conseil national desassurances (CNA). According to Article 22 of the draft law, this Committee will be consulted bythe Minister of Economy and Finance on any draft law or ordinance as well on any every proposal
for a Community directive dealing with issues related to banking, insurance and investment
services. In addition, draft decrees and ministerial orders in these areas will only be adopted afterconsultation of the CCLRF. The Minister of the Economy and Finance, the Banque de France, theCECEI, the Banking Commission, the Advisory Committee of the Financial Sector, the AMF andsome insurance authorities may make referrals to the CCLRF for this purpose. In case of a negativeopinion, draft decrees or ministerial orders can only be adopted once a second deliberation of theCommittee has taken place at the request of the Minister. The draft law provides that a decree willestablish the composition, the conditions of appointment of the CCLRF members and theCommittees rules.
18. In the statement of reasons, the French authorities provide some additional information on the
possible content of the decree envisaged in respect of the CCLRF. This Committee would becomposed in a similar manner to the CRBF (including a representative of the Governor of theBanque de France, Chairman of the Banking Commission), except that it would includerepresentatives from the insurance and investment services sectors, depending on the mattersexamined by the Committee. As for the CRBF, the Chairman will be the Minister of Economy, orhis representative, with a casting vote.
19. The scope of intervention of the CCLRF will be wider since it will cover banking, insurance and
investment services sectors. Moreover, as men tioned above, the Committee will not only examine
ministerial orders and decrees but also regulations, draft laws and proposed Community directives.However, unlike the CRBF, the new Committee does  not have regulatory powers and its powers
are only of an advisory nature. The Minister of Economy will be directly in charge of banking andfinancial regulation in the areas mentioned in Article L.611-2 of the Code, without prejudice to the
7missions conferred upon the ESCB in accordance w ith Article 105(2) of the Treaty (and not
Article 106(2) of the Treaty, as mentioned in th e Code). Since the CCLRF (in which the Banque de
France should participate) will be consulted on any draft provisions related to the financial sector,the consulting authority might wish to consid er involving this Committee in contributing to
ensuring the implementation of the abovementioned Council Decision 98/415/EC.
D. Emergency measures relating to financial markets
20. Article L.621-7-1 of the Code, once amended by the draft law, will provide that, in case of the
AMFs incapacity to act, emergency measures required by circumstances will be adopted by adecree. This provision mirrors an existing similar provision of the Code regarding the CMF. TheECB understands that this provision aims to provide the French authorities with the powers toadopt emergency measures in relation to financial markets should the AMF be unable to act. Sincethe proposed provision is included in the Section of the Code on the powers of the AMF, some ofwhich, as mentioned above, are shared with th e Banque de France in relation to Eurosystem
activities (for instance, regarding clearing and settlement systems of financial instruments)
7, the
attention of the French authorities is drawn to the recommendations contained in the ECB Opinion
of 31 October 20028 concerning the possibility for Member States to adopt emergency measures
for the financial markets. In the interests of clarification, the abovementioned draft provision couldbe amended as follows: In case of () and without prejudice to the powers of the Banque deFrance in particular in the context of ESCB activities ().
E. Rules on money market instruments
21. A reform of the French rules applying to negotiable debt securities (TCN), as last amended in
19989, is under way, comprising in particular the amendment by the draft law of certain provisions
of the Code concerning TCN and aiming to further increase the competitiveness of the TCN marketand facilitate conditions of issuance.
22. As regards the rules on the organisation and supervision of the TCN market, the ECB notes that the
French authorities intend to clarify within the Code the respective roles and functions of the AMFand of the Banque de France. For instance, Article L.213-4 of the Code, as amended, will providethat the financial documentation is to be submitted to the Banque de France which is in charge ofensuring that issuers comply with the conditions of issuance provided for in Article L.213-3 of the
Code. Although there is no express provision in the draft law, the ECB understands that, under the
                                                     
7 See in this respect Article L.141-4 of the Code, as amended by MURCEF law nº2001-1 168 of 11 December 2001
regarding urgent measures of an economic and financial nature.
8 ECB Opinion CON/2002/27 regarding a draft Finnish Act on emergency powers.
9 See in this respect the ECB opinion of 4 September 1998, CON/98/40 on a draft decree on the modernisation of the
regulation of negotiable certificates of deposit, commercial paper and medium-term notes
8new provisions on negotiable debt securities envisaged by the French authorities, the AMF, as for
the debt securities markets, will be empowered in particular to ensure the surveillance of financialinformation continuously without having to deliver any visa, and the compliance of operators withbusiness conduct rules. Moreover, as mentioned above, the surveillance of the TCN market shouldbe part of the joint exercise to be undertaken respectively by the AMF and the Banque de France inthe context of the adoption of the protocol be tween the two authorities. The ECB welcomes this
clarification which should ultimately benefit TCN issuers, investors and other market participants.
23. Under the draft law, the applicable provisions contained in the Code (and in particular
Articles L.213-2 and L.213-4 of the Code) will also be amended to relax the applicable languageregime and to provide the possibility for issuers, under certain circumstances, to submit financialdocumentation in a language customary in the sphere of finance other than French. Moreover, thecurrent obligation imposed on TCN issuers to prove two years of existence will be repealed. TheECB welcomes these amendments since they should open the market to a wider range of issuersand contribute to a further integration of short-term securities markets in Europe.
24. The ECB understands that some amendments to Decree nº92-137 of 13 February 1992 (which are
not part of the present consultation) are envisaged by the French authorities. If the amendments tothe Decree and any related regulation fall within the scope of the abovementioned CouncilDecision, the ECB would be available to provide its comments on the matter.
F. Rules relating to custody account keeping of financial instruments
25. At present, the French legislation refers to custody account keeping services of financial
instruments in Article L.622-7 of the Code which provides that the CMF General Regulation dealswith the conditions for the authorisation of custody account keepers of financial instruments. TheFrench authorities clarify in the draft law, with in a specific and autonomous chapter of the Code
(Article 33 of the draft law), the nature of the persons likely to be authorised to exercise suchactivity, i.e. corporate issuers making public offe rings, French financial institutions subject to
prudential supervision (credit institutions, investment firms or institutions such as La Poste), andpure custody account keepers of financial instruments, assimilated to investment firms, licensedby the CECEI, respectively supervised by the AMF for business conduct rules and by the BankingCommission for their management standards. Foreign legal persons (credit institutions, investmentfirms and custody account keepers) would be authoris ed to provide such services provided that the
provisions applicable to them in their home country in terms of exercise of the activity and ofsupervision are equivalent to the rules applicable in France. The conditions will be specified in the
AMF General Regulation. The statement of reasons indicates that this differentiated treatment ofEEA providers compared to French providers is justified by the absence of harmonisation of such
services in Europe.
926. Under Directives 2000/12/EC and 93/22/EEC, EEA cr edit institutions and investment firms which
were granted a licence in their home country and are entitled to provide custody account keepingfinancial instrument services are not subject to any additional licensing requirements under the lawof the host country. It is noted, however, that the abovementioned proposal for a directive of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council on investment services and regulated markets (ISD)adopted by the European Commission on 19 November 2002 considers safekeeping andadministration of financial instruments for the account of clients (including custodianship andrelated services such as cash/collateral management) as ancillary/non-core services. Moreover,according to Article 5 of the proposal (Scope of authorisation), the European passport is notgranted solely for the provision of ancillary services. The ECB notes that this situation currentlyprevails in the context of the existing ISD
10.
27. The ECB acknowledges that the legal framework for the provision of custody account keeping
services of financial instruments is not harmonised at European level. In France, the rules aredetailed and binding, thus providing market participants with a high level of security. The ECBshares the view that, from a systemic perspective, custodians are a key component of the securitiessettlement chain and that the financial soundness stemming from a set of detailed rules may alsoplay an important role in respect of the constitution and realisation of collateral. Therefore, theECB believes that efforts for further harmonisati on, possibly with a view to establishing minimum
common standards (for instance in terms of business practices, capital adequacy, performancerequirements) and an adequate legal framework should be pursued by the relevant fora to ensure alevel playing field throughout Europe while further increasing confidence in the securitiessettlement chain.
G. Issue of electronic money, payment systems and money laundering
28. The draft law introduces some amendments to the Code in respect of e-money institutions. The
ECB understands in this respect that most of the provisions of the Directives on electronic money11
were recently implemented by a Regulation of the CRBF nº2002-13 of 21 November 2002 relatingto electronic money and electronic money institutions
12.
29. The provisions of the draft law amending Article L.511-7 II of the Code intend to implement
Article 8(1)(b) and (c) of Directive 2000/46/EC (the Directive) which allows Member States towaive the application of the Directive in certain defined cases. The waiver contained in Article 8 of
                                                     
10 Council Directive 93/22/EEC of 10 May 1993 on investment serv ices in the securities field, OJ L 141, 11.6.1993, p. 27,
Annex, Section C.
11 Directive 2000/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 amending Directive
2000/12/EC relating to the taking up and pursuit of the busi ness of credit institutions, OJ L 275, 27.10.2000, p. 37;
Directive 2000/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on the taking up, pursuit of
and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions, OJ L 275, 27.10. 2000, p. 39.
12 The CRBF Regulation has not yet been endorsed by a formal approval of the Ministry of the Economy, which will
determine its entry into force and its publication.
10Directive provides a derogation from the main provisions of the Directive which are intended to
ensure sound and prudent operations and in particular the financial integrity of electronic moneyinstitutions. In this respect, the ECB had the opportunity to indicate, in a recent opinion on a draftFinnish Act
13, that, in the interest of the smooth functioning of the payments systems as well as for
monetary policy reasons in general, it would favour a more restrictive use of the waiver.
30. First, the ECB observes that the CECEI will be empowered to grant exemptions from credit
institution licensing to those institutions fulfilling the conditions of Article 8(1)(b) and (c), asimplemented under French law. According to the draft law, companies issuing electronic moneywho benefit from the waiver would as a consequence not be regarded as credit institutions. In thisrespect, the ECB would like to recall that Article 1(4) of the Directive provides that Member Statesmust prohibit persons or undertakings that are not credit institutions from issuing electronic money.
Furthermore, the Councils common position concerning the Directive
14 stated that even though the
Member States have the option to waive the application of some or all of the provisions of theDirective and the application of Directive 2000/12/EC, this does not affect the nature of theinstitutions concerned; they remain credit institutions, as defined in Article 1, point 1, firstsubparagraph of Directive 2000/12/EC
15. In addition, the entitlement of monetary authorities to
impose minimum reserve requirements is not affected. The question of which types of institutionare regarded as credit institutions is important in the context of the ESCBs operations and forcredit institutions access to central banks payments systems as well as to the standing facilities, asthey are instruments of Community monetary policy.
31. Second, the draft law authorises the CECEI to gran t the above exemption unless it considers this
to be incompatible with the payment systems. Th e reference to payment systems in this provision
of the draft law is, in the view of the ECB, re latively unclear. The ECB understands, however, that
this provision intends to specify that the CECE I would grant such exemption unless it considers
this to be incompatible with the security of mean s of payment. In addition, this provision is to be
assessed in the context of the protection granted by the Settlement Finality Directive16 to credit
institutions as participants in a system.
32. Third, and subject to the above reservation, the ECB notes that these exempted institutions
(which do not have the status of credit institutions) will however be subject to obligations todeclare any suspicion under Article L.562-1 of the Code.
                                                     
13 See ECB Opinion CON/2002/1 of 4 January 2002 at the request of the Finnish Ministry of Finance on a draft proposal
concerning the revision of the Credit Institution Act.
14 Common Position (EC) No 8/2000 adopted by the Council on 29 November 1999 with a view to the adoption of
Directive 2000/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervisionof the business of electronic money institutions (including th e statement of Council's reasons), OJ C 26, 28.1.2000, p. 1.
15 Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 relating to the taking up and
pursuit of the business of credit institutions, OJ L 126, 26.5.2000, p. 1.
16 Directive 98/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on settlement finality in payment ad
securities settlement systems, EC OJ l166 of 11 June 1998, p. 45.
11H. Discontinuation of the publication by the Banqu e de France of its weekly balance sheets and
amendment to the Statute of the Banque de France
33. Article L.144-5 of the Code, which is part of the Statute of the Banque de France, requires the
balance sheets of the Banque de France to be published weekly. The draft law provides for therepeal of this requirement. According to Article 2(1) of Decision ECB/2001/16 of6 December 2001
17, the intra-Eurosystem balances on euro banknotes in circulation, as defined in
Article 1(e) of that Decision, which result from the allocation of the euro banknote issued, arecalculated on a monthly basis  and are recorded in the books of the ECB and the NCBs on the first
business day of the month with a value date of the last business day of the preceding month. Byextension, the recording of the allocation to NCBs of their share of the liability arising from the
total value of euro banknotes in circulation, as a result of the application of Article 4 ofDecision ECB/2001/15 of 6 December 2001
18 on the issue of euro banknotes, occurs with the same
frequency. The publication by an NCB of its balance sheet more frequently than at the end of amonth would disclose liabilities for euro banknotes  in circulation that reflect day-to-day accounting
transactions occurring between the periodic allocations recorded in its books. This would thereforeconflict with Article 4 of Decision ECB/2001/15. Accordingly, on 4 July 2002 the GoverningCouncil of the ECB recommended that those euro area NCBs which currently publish weeklybalance sheets discontinue their publication. The ECB therefore welcomes this repeal.
34. This opinion will be published on the ECBs website.
Done at Frankfurt am Main on 18 December 2002.
The President of the ECB
[signed]
Willem F. DUISENBERG
                                                     
17 Decision ECB/2001/16 of 6 December 2001 on the allocation of monetary income of the national central banks of
participating Member States from the financial year 2002, OJ L 337, 20.12.2001, p. 55.
18 Decision ECB/2001/15 of 6 December 2001 on the issue of euro banknotes, OJ L 337, 20.12.2001, p. 52.