OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
of 10 February 2000 
at the request of the Austrian Ministry of Finance on a draft Federal Act to amend the 
Banking Act
(CON/00/01)
1. On 3 January 2000 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Austrian
Ministry of Finance for an ECB Opinion on a draft Federal Act to amend the Banking Act.
2. The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Article 105 (4) of the Treaty
establishing the European Community (hereinafter referred to as the “Treaty”) and onArticle 2 (1), in particular the sixth indent, of Council Decision (EC) No. 98/415 of 29 June
1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national authorities regarding draft
legislative provisions, as the draft laws contains rules applicable to financial institutions that
could materially influence the stability of financial institutions and markets. As the request foran opinion of the ECB was not restricted to this part of the draft law, the present opinion coversthe whole draft legislative proposal. In accordance with Article 17.5, first sentence, of the Rulesof Procedure of the European Central Bank, this ECB Opinion has been adopted by theGoverning Council of the ECB. This ECB Opinion is based on an unofficial English translationof the official Austrian proposal.
3. The ECB notes that the draft law aims at implementing individual provisions of Directive
98/31/EC (CAD II) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 amending
Council Directive 93/6/EEC on the capital adequ acy of investment firms and credit institutions
(CAD), and of Directive 98/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February1998 amending Directive 87/102/EEC for the approximation of the laws, regulations andadministrative provisions of the Member States concerning consumer credit In addition, otherprovisions of the draft law arise from the need to implement Article 4 (1) 2
nd subparagraph of
Directive 94/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on deposit-guarantee schemes and Article 7 (1) 2
nd subparagraph of Directive 97/9/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 3 March 1997 on investor-compensation schemes. Lastly, the
2
draft law addresses the need for improved co-operation with the banking supervisory authorities
of third countries.
4. The ECB welcomes the implementation of the above mentioned provisions of Community law
in Austria and has, apart from the statements below, no further comments on the draft law.
5. The ECB welcomes the new provisions of the draft law (Articles 42 and 46 to 50)  regarding co-
operation and exchange of information between th e Ministry of Finance, as Austria’s banking
supervisory authority, and the competent supervisory authorities of third countries. In particular,
the ECB notes that the main aim is to ensure an effective consolidated supervision of bankinggroups based in Austria and operating in third countries. In this sense, the ECB should like tonote that the new provisions allow the supervisory authority to have an autonomous andproactive stance towards co-operation, both as a provider and requestor of assistance andinformation. This is appropriately subject to principles of mutual assistance, confidentiality and
professional secrecy. Moreover, the ECB welcomes that the objectives underlying the
provisions of Community law concerning co-operation and exchange of information betweensupervisors are pursued in relation to the compet ent authorities of third countries. Lastly, in
relation to Article 50 of the draft law and the new §77a of the Austrian Banking Act, the ECBbelieves that a formal agreement between the competent supervisory authorities is anappropriate instrument to establish co-operatio n and information sharing arrangements. In this
regard, such type of agreements may include the possibility of cross-sector co-operation for thebenefit of the purposes of consolidated supervision. Furthermore, such agreements have thepotential to contribute to the world-wide implementation of high standards in the conduct of
supervision. Thus, their geographical scope could be extended to all jurisdictions to which there
are significant links. All in all, the new provis ions should be seen as a step forward towards
reinforcing the current framework for cross-border supervision in accordance with theinternational standards and recommendations.
6. The ECB confirms that it has no objection to this ECB Opinion being made public by the
competent national authorities at their discretion.
Done at Frankfurt am Main on 10 February 2000.
The President of the ECB
[signed]
Willem F. Duisenberg