EN 
 
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 29 January 2010 
on measures to support bank lending to businesses 
(CON/2010/14) 
 Introduction and legal basis
 
On 8 January 2010 the European Central Bank (ECB) re ceived a request from the President of Narodowy 
Bank Polski (NBP) for an opinion on a draft resolu tion on promissory notes eligible for discounting at 
Narodowy Bank Polski and on the rules and procedures a pplicable to the discounting of promissory notes 
(hereinafter the ‘draft resolution’)1.  
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 Article 2(2)  of Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on 
the consultation of the European Central Bank by  national authorities regarding draft legislative 
provisions2, as the draft resolution relates to the introducti on of a new instrument of monetary policy in a 
Member State that has not adopted the euro. In accordance with the firs t 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 resolution 1.1 Under Article 44 of th e Law on Narodowy Bank Polski
3, NBP may accept bills of exchange and 
promissory notes from banks for discounting and redi scounting, and the eligible types of such bills 
and notes are specified by resolution of the NBP Management Board. Pursuant to this mandate, the rules governing the rediscounting mechanism were defined in 1999
4. The purpose of the draft 
resolution is to introduce a discounting mech anism under which NBP will accept for discounting 
promissory notes presented by banks, applying to such notes the discount rate to be set by the 
Monetary Policy Council. 
1.2 The draft resolution is a measure designed to address the current unfavourable market conditions 
restraining banks’ lending to businesses. To th is end, it introduces discount credit, a new 
                                                 
1  Draft resolution of 7 January 2010. 
2  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
3 The Law of 29 August 1997 on Narodowy Bank Polski (consolidated text: Dziennik Ustaw  (Dz. U.) of 2005 No 1, 
item 2). 
4 Resolution No 2/98 of the Management Board of Narodowy Bank Polski of 27 February 1998 on the types of bills of 
exchange eligible for rediscounting with Narodowy Bank Pols ki, and specifying the rules a nd procedures applicable to 
the rediscounting of bills (as published in Dziennik Urz ędowy NBP  of 9 March 1998 No 3, item 5). 
2 refinancing instrument enabling NBP to indir ectly finance banks’ lending to businesses without 
engaging in direct relationships with original borrowers5.  
1.3 The draft resolution specifies the eligibility criteria and procedural set-up applicable to the 
proposed discounting instrument. The following ar e eligible to submit promissory notes for 
discounting at NBP: (i) domestic banks; (ii) branches  of foreign banks; and (iii) branches of credit 
institutions6, which (a) have an account with NBP; and (b) have entered with NBP into a discount 
credit agreement. Promissory notes7 with maturities of less than one year are eligible for 
discounting at NBP, if they meet general require ments specified in the Law on bills of exchange8 
and additional requirements set out in the draft resolution9. 
 2. ECB comments 2.1 The ECB understands that the scope of the draf t resolution covers credit institutions established in 
Poland, including subsidiaries of foreign cred it institutions, as well as branches of European 
Economic Area (EEA) credit institutions from out side Poland. The ECB welcomes this, as it 
ensures a level playing field for all do mestic and foreign credit institutions. 
2.2 Although non-participating Member States retain th eir powers in the field of monetary policy, it is 
nevertheless beneficial for them to gradually ach ieve consistency with Eurosystem standards so 
that credit institutions operating in their territo ries can become acquainted with the requirements 
that will apply once these Member States have adopt ed the euro. Such gradual harmonisation prior 
to the adoption of the euro will contribute to th e smooth integration of the national central bank 
(NCB) into the Eurosystem. In this context, the ECB draws NBP’s attention to the fact that the 
Eurosystem’s single list of eligible collateral does not include promissory notes other than those which are issued by credit institutions that are elig ible counterparties to the Eurosystem's monetary 
policy operations, which are secured by a pool of r esidential mortgages, and which comply with 
certain other eligibility criteria
10.  
2.3 The requirement for lending to be based on adeq uate collateral, specified in Article 18 of the 
Statute of the European System of Central Ba nks and of the European Central Bank, does not 
presently apply to NBP due to a derogation in Article 42(1) of the Statute. However, in the interest 
                                                 
5 See the explanatory memorandum to the dr aft resolution, p. 1. See also ‘Moneta ry policy guidelines for the year 2010’, 
p. 18 (available on NBP’ s website at www.nbp.pl). 
6  As defined in Articles 2, 4(3) and 4(1)(1), (2) and (17)  of the Law on banking of 29 August 1997 (consolidated text: Dz. 
U. of 2002 No 72, item 665) – credit institutions registered in  Poland are legally referred to as ‘banks’ (this definition 
does not cover the Polish version of credit unions), the term ‘c redit institution’ as used in Polish law only relates to EEA 
credit institutions from outside Poland, and non-EEA cred it institutions are referr ed to as ‘foreign banks’. 
7  In the English version of this opinion, the terms ‘bill of exch ange’ and ‘promissory note’ are used in this Opinion in the 
light of their respective definitions both in the relevant  convention (see Article 1 vs. Article 75 of the Convention 
Providing a Uniform Law for Bills of Exchange and Promissory  Notes (Geneva, 1930)) and in the relevant provisions of 
Polish law (see Article 1 vs. Article 101 of the Law on bills of exchange referred to in footnote 8 below).    
8  The Law of 28 April 1936 on bills of exchange (Dz. U. of 1936 No 37, item 282, and of 2006 No 73, item 501).  
9  See paragraphs 1(1)(2)-(8) of the draft resolution. 
10  See Section 6.2.2 of Annex I to Guideline ECB/2000/7 of 31 August 2000 on monetary policy instruments and 
procedures of the Eurosystem (OJ L 310, 11.12.2000, p. 1). 
3 of encouraging NCB lending only against adequa te collateral, the ECB notes that the draft 
resolution might benefit from including an e xpress provision requiring examination of the 
creditworthiness of original borrowers, comple menting those safeguards which are already 
included in it and in the template discount credit agreement attached to it11, as well as the general 
statutory requirement for credit institutions  to ensure creditworthiness of borrowers12.  
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.   Done at Frankfurt am Main, 29 January 2010. 
 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Jean-Claude TRICHET 
 
                                                 
11 For example, the re-endorsement mechanism under which the pr omissory notes which serve as  discount credit collateral 
will not be presented by NBP to the drawers for repurchase, but will be re-indorsed to the banks which presented them 
for discounting, while at the same the current account of the bank held with NBP will be debited with the full amount of 
the notes (see paragraph 12(1) of the draft resolution); the ac celeration clause applied in th e event of the bank’s default 
(see paragraph 4(5) of the draft resolution); the right for NBP to review the relevant credit documentation (see 
paragraph 2(3) of the template discount credit agreement); the requirement for ba nks, when presenting promissory notes 
for discounting, to certify that that they are not aware of the drawer having defaulted in the past in the repayment of its 
obligations under a promissory note or a bill of exchange (s ee paragraph 4(3)(2) of the draft resolution); the right for 
NBP to terminate the discount credit agreem ent with immediate effect (see paragraph 6(1) of the template discount credit 
agreement).  
12 Article 70(1) of the Law on banki ng referred to in footnote 6.