EN 
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 16 February 2011 
on including credit unions in the State Trea sury support to financial institutions 
(CON/2011/11) 
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 21 January 2011, the European Central Bank (ECB ) received a request from the Polish Minister for 
Finance for an opinion on a draft law amending the Law on the provision of State Treasury support to financial institutions (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 and the third a nd sixth indents of Artic le 2(1) of Council 
Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consulta tion of the European Central Bank by national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions
1, as the draft law relates to Narodowy Bank Polski and to 
rules applicable to financial institutions insofar as they materially influence the stability of financial 
institutions 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 1.1 The draft law amends the Law of 12 February 2009 on the provision of State Treasury support to 
financial institutions
2 (hereinafter the ‘Law on State support’ ), on which the ECB was consulted in 
November 20083. The Law on State support introduced a scheme whereby various support 
measures were offered to e ligible financial institutions4. The ECB was subsequently consulted in 
October 20095 and December 20106 with a view to extending the deadline by which eligible 
financial institutions may apply for support.  
                                                 
1 OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
2 Dz. U. of 2009 No 39, Item 308. 
3 See Opinion CON/2008/80; all ECB opinions are publis hed on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
4 Six categories of financial institutions established in Poland were eligible fo r the support scheme: banks, credit unions, 
investment funds, brokerage houses, in surance companies and pension funds (see  Article 2 of the Law on State support). 
5  See Opinion CON/2009/82. 
6  See Opinion CON/2010/95. 
2 1.2 The draft law extends the list of institutions elig ible for support in the form of State guarantees to: 
(i) credit unions active in Poland ( spółdzielcze kasy oszcz ędnościowo-kredytowe , hereinafter the 
‘SKOK credit unions’); and (ii) the National Sa vings and Credit Union, a statutory central 
association of individual credit unions (hereinaft er the ‘National SKOK’). This extension is 
proposed because the credit unions: (i) provide ser vices similar to banks, a nd may be exposed to 
similar liquidity risks; and (ii) they currently  manage significant assets and provide services to a 
large number of mostly retail customers7. The draft law does not change the conditions of support 
or the criteria by which the eligibility of fina ncial institutions is assessed under the Law on State 
support. 
1.3 Under the current Law on credit unions8, they operate under their own supervisory framework and 
are not supervised by the Financial Superv ision Commission (FSC), the Polish financial 
supervisory authority. In 2009 the ECB was c onsulted on a draft law introducing substantial 
changes regarding the regulation and supervisi on of SKOK credit unions, including the imposition 
on them of the FSC supervision and the obligation to hold minimum reserves9 with Narodowy 
Bank Polski. The ECB understands that this law was adopted by the Parliament but did not yet 
enter into force, pending its review by the Constitutional Court. 
 2.  General observation 2.1  The ECB reiterates its observations in Opinion CON/2009/60, as well as in its previous opinions on 
the Law on State support. Without precluding the outcome of the constitutional review, the ECB 
considers it essential for the legal reform of the regulation and supervision of SKOK credit unions 
to enter into force as soon as possible. Key elemen ts are the imposition of a supervisory regime 
equivalent to that applying to credit institu tions, the obligation to hold minimum reserves and 
enhanced legal certainty and transparency of credit union operations. These measures should 
accompany the proposed inclusion of the SKOK credit unions in the list of institutions eligible for 
support in the form of State guarantees.   
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.  Done at Frankfurt am Main, 16 February 2011. 
[signed] 
The President of the ECB 
Jean-Claude TRICHET 
                                                 
7  See the explanatory memorandum to the draft law, p. 1. 
8  The Law on credit unions of 4 January 1996, Dz. U. of 1996 No 1, Item 2. 
9  See Opinion CON/2009/60.