EN ECB -PUBLIC 
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK  
of 13 August 201 2 
on the  increase of Austria’s quota with the International Monetary Fund  
(CON/20 12/65) 
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 18 July 2012, the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Austrian Ministry of 
Finance for an opinion on a draft law on the increase of Austria’s quota with the International Monetary 
Fund (IMF) ( 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 third 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 provisions1, as the draft law r elates to the  Oesterreichische Nationalbank  (OeNB) . 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  
1.1 On 15 December 2010, the IMF Board of Governors adopted Resolution No 66- 2 on the 
‘Fourteenth General Review of Quotas and Reform of the Executive Board’. This Resolution 
covers, inter alia , increases in the quotas of members. IMF member countries have committed in 
the same R esolution to use their best efforts to complete the necessary implementation  steps no 
later than the Annual Meetings 2012. 
1.2 The draft law incorporates the IMF quota increase into Austrian law. Austria’s quota wi ll increase 
from 2 113.9 million Special Drawi ng Rights (SDR) to SDR 3 932 million. The draft law entitles 
and oblig es the OeNB to pay for the proposed increase.  As noted in the explanatory memorandum 
to the draft law, the OeNB assumed the entire Austrian quota in 1971 and has paid all subsequent 
quota increases, meaning that it should also pay the latest proposed increase in the quota. The 
payment will result in an exchange of assets and liabilities on the OeNB’s balance sheet , which 
would acquire the IMF quota in return for SDR 1 818.1 million.  
1.3 The explanatory memorandum also notes that the OeNB exercise s the rights arising from the quota 
increase in accordance with the  Law of 23 June 1971 on the increase of Austria’s IMF quota and 
                                                           
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.  
ECB -PUBLIC 
2 the transfer of the entire quota by the OeNB2 . According to Article 2(1) of this Law , the OeNB is 
authorised to fulfil  all financial commitments resulting from the Austria’s membership with the 
IMF.  
 
2. Monetary financing prohibition  
Several ECB opinions3 have noted that the tasks performed by a national central bank must com ply with 
the monetary financing prohibition under Article 123 of the Treaty and Council Regulation (EC) 
No 3603/93 of 13 December 1993 specifying definitions for the application of the prohibitions referred to 
in Articles 104 and 104b(1) of the Treaty4. Pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 3603/93, the 
financing by national central banks of obligations falling upon the public sector vis -à-vis the IMF is not 
regarded as a credit facility within the meaning of Article 123 of the Treaty. The fourteenth recital of 
Regulation 3603/93 sets out the rationale of the exemption and confirms that it is appropriate to authorise the financing by the national central banks of obligations falling upon the public sector vis -à-vis the IMF, 
as this financing results in  claims which have all the characteristics of reserve assets. Therefore, the ECB 
finds that payment by the OeNB of the proposed increase in Austria’s IMF quota complies with Article 7 
of Regulation (EC) No 3603/93 and does not infringe the monetary financi ng prohibition.  
 
3. Central bank independence  
The OeNB is responsible for paying any increases in Austria’s IMF quota , exercises all rights connected 
with the IMF system of SDRs and is in charge of fulfilling all Austrian financial obligations vis -à-vis the 
IMF. The ECB understands that in this context and in line with the principle of central bank independence 
enshrined in Article 130 of the Treaty and Article 7 of the Statute of the European Central Bank and of the European System of Central Banks , the OeNB takes decisions regarding the management of the SDRs 
in a fully independent manner
5. 
 
This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.  
 Done at Frankfurt am Main, 13 August  2012 . 
 
[signed]  
 
The President of the ECB  
Mario DRAGHI  
                                                           
2  BGBl 309/1971.  
3  The most recent opinions  are CON/2011/89, CON/2011/97, CON/2011/102 and CON 2012/45. All ECB Opinions are 
available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu.  
4  OJ L 332, 31.12.1993, p. 1.  
5  Similarly, see CON/2012/45 and CON/2011/102.