Agreement of 16 November 2000 between the European Central Bank and the Bank of Greece regarding the claim credited to the Bank of Greece by the European Central Bank under Article 30.3 of the Statute of the ESCB and related matters
Date: 2000-11-16
Institutions: European Central Bank, Greece
Subjects: European Central Bank, Greece, central bank, claim, foreign-exchange reserves

L 336/122

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

30.12.2000

AGREEMENT

of 16 November 2000

between the European Central Bank and the Bank of Greece regarding the claim credited to the
Bank of Greece by the European Central Bank under Article 30.3 of the Statute of the ESCB and
related matters

THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK AND THE BANK OF GREECE,

ting the amount required to be contributed by the Bank
of Greece in accordance with recital 2.

Whereas:

(1)

Pursuant to Article 30.3 of the Statute of the European
System of Central Banks and of the European Central
Bank (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Statute’) and Article
4(1) of Decision ECB/2000/14 of 16 November 2000
providing for the paying up of
the capital and the
contribution to the reserves and provisions of the ECB
by the Bank of Greece, and for the initial transfer of
foreign-reserve assets to the ECB by the Bank of Greece
and related matters (1), the European Central Bank (ECB)
shall credit the Bank of Greece with a claim denomi-
nated in euro equivalent to the aggregate euro amount
of the Bank of Greece's contribution of foreign-reserve
assets. The Governing Council of the ECB has decided
that the Bank of Greece shall, in compliance with the
requirements of Article 49.1 of the Statute, transfer the
same amounts of foreign-reserve assets in or denomi-
nated in US dollars, Japanese yen and gold that would
have been transferred to the ECB by the Bank of Greece
if the Bank of Greece had been a national central bank
(NCB) of a Member State which has adopted the single
currency (participating NCBs) on 1 January 1999.
Pursuant to Article 4(2) of Decision ECB/2000/14, the
aggregate euro equivalent value of the foreign-reserve
assets transferred by the Bank of Greece shall be calcu-
lated on the basis of the exchange rates between the
euro and the US dollar or Japanese yen established as a
result of the daily concertation teleconference procedure
on 29 December 2000 among those central banks that
participate in such procedure and, in the case of gold, on
the basis of the US dollar price of gold per fine troy
ounce established in the London gold fixing at 10.30
a.m., London time, on 29 December 2000, and the
amount so calculated shall be confirmed by the ECB to
the Bank of Greece as soon as possible on 29 December
2000.

(2)

Article 49.2 of the Statute requires the Bank of Greece
to contribute to the reserves of the ECB, to those provi-
sions equivalent to reserves, and to the amount still to
be appropriated to the reserves and provisions corre-
sponding to the balance of the profit and loss account as
at 31 December of the year ending 31 December 2000.

(3)

The ECB and the Bank of Greece agree that the claim
required to be credited by the ECB to the Bank of Greece
in accordance with recital 1 may be reduced by offset-

(1) See page 110 of this Official Journal.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

The ECB and the Bank of Greece agree to reduce the
claim to be credited by the ECB to the Bank of Greece
following the offsetting set
forth in recital 3 to an
amount equal to EUR 1 028 200 000 in order to ensure
that the ratio between the amount in euro of the claim
credited to the Bank of Greece and the aggregate
amount in euro of the claims credited to the other
participating NCBs shall be equal to the ratio between
the Bank of Greece's weighting in the key for subscrip-
tion of the ECB's capital and the other participating
NCBs' aggregate weighting in the key for subscription of
the ECB's capital.

The ECB and the Bank of Greece agree on other modali-
ties for the crediting of the claim required to be credited
by the ECB to the Bank of Greece, including the poss-
ibility that it may, depending on exchange-rate move-
ments, be necessary to increase rather than reduce such
claim to an amount equal to EUR 1 028 200 000.

In view of the agreement of the parties reflected herein it
is necessary to adapt the provisions of Article 4 of the
Guideline of 3 November 1998, as amended by Guide-
line ECB/2000/15 of 16 November 2000, on the
composition, valuation and modalities for the initial
transfer of foreign-reserve assets, and the denomination
and remuneration of equivalent claims, attached as
Annex to Decision ECB/2000/14, relating to the waiver
by participating NCBs of the claims credited to such
NCBs by the ECB in the event that the ECB incurs an
unrealised loss in any financial year during the trans-
itional period between 1 January 1999 and 31
December 2001 owing to a decline in the euro-equiva-
lent value of the ECB's foreign-reserve assets resulting
solely from exchange-rate or gold price fluctuation. For
the purposes of the application of Article 4(2) of Guide-
line ECB/2000/15, attached as Annex to Decision ECB/
2000/14, the original value of the Bank of Greece's
claim shall be taken to be EUR 1 028 200 000.

Article 10.3 of the Statute, in conjunction with Article
43.4, provides that for any decisions to be taken under
Article 30 of the Statute, the votes in the Governing
Council of the ECB shall be weighted according to the
shares in the capital of the ECB subscribed by the central
banks of Member States without a derogation. The
Governing Council of the ECB has approved the ECB's
entry into this Agreement
in accordance with such
procedure specified under Article 10.3 of the Statute,

30.12.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 336/123

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Modalities for crediting of Bank of Greece's claim

If the aggregate amount of the claim required to be
1.
credited by the ECB to the Bank of Greece in accordance with
Article 30.3 of the Statute and Article 4(1) of Decision ECB/
2000/14 is greater than EUR 1 028 200 000 on the final date
on which the ECB receives foreign reserve assets from the Bank
of Greece, the amount of such claim shall be reduced on such
date to an amount equal to EUR 1 028 200 000. Such reduc-
tion shall be made by offsetting the amount required to be
contributed by the Bank of Greece as of 1 January 2001 to the
the ECB for valuation
to reserves of
provisions equivalent
losses with respect
to
Article 49.2 of the Statute together with Article 5 of Decision
ECB/2000/14. Such offsetting shall be treated as an advance
contribution to the provisions equivalent to reserves for valua-
tion losses with respect to foreign-exchange rates and market
prices, and such advance contribution shall be deemed to have
been made as of the date of such offsetting.

to foreign-exchange rates, pursuant

2.
If the amount required to be contributed by the Bank of
Greece to the provisions equivalent to reserves of the ECB for
valuation losses with respect to foreign-exchange rates, is less
than the difference between (a) the aggregate amount of the
claim required to be credited by the ECB to the Bank of Greece
in accordance with Article 30.3 of the Statute and Article 4(1)
of Decision ECB/2000/14 and (b) EUR 1 028 200 000, then
the amount of such claim shall be reduced to an amount equal
to EUR 1 028 200 000 (1) by offsetting in accordance with
paragraph 1, and (2) by the ECB paying the Bank of Greece an
amount in euro equal to the amount of the shortfall remaining
after such offsetting. Any amount required to be paid by the
ECB in accordance with this paragraph 2 shall be due from 1
January 2001. The ECB shall, in due course, give instructions
for the transfer of such amount, and of net accrued interest
thereon, through Target (Trans-European automated real-time
gross settlement express transfer system). Accrued interest shall
be calculated at a rate equal to the marginal interest rate used
by the ESCB in its most recent main refinancing operation, and
the calculation of interest shall be effected on a daily basis,
using the actual over-360-day method of calculation.

3.
If the aggregate amount of the claim required to be
credited by the ECB to the Bank of Greece in accordance with
Article 30.3 of the Statute and Article 4(1) of Decision ECB/
2000/14 is lower than EUR 1 028 200 000 on the final date
on which the ECB receives foreign-reserve assets from the Bank
of Greece, the amount of such claim shall be increased on such
date to an amount equal to EUR 1 028 200 000. The amount
of such claim shall be increased by the Bank of Greece paying
the ECB an amount in euro equal to the amount of such

difference. Any amount required to be paid by the Bank of
Greece in accordance with this paragraph 3 shall be due from
1 January 2001, and shall be paid in accordance with the
procedures specified in Article 5(3) of Decision ECB/2000/14.

Article 2

Waiver of the Bank of Greece's claim

1.
If the participating NCBs other than the Bank of Greece
have waived the claims credited to such participating NCBs by
the ECB in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of
Guideline ECB/2000/15, attached as Annex to Decision ECB/
2000/14, in the event that the ECB incurs an unrealised loss in
the financial year ending 31 December 2000 giving rise to
such waiver, the amount of the Bank of Greece's claim of
EUR 1 028 200 000 shall be reduced by the same percentage
by which the original value of the other participating NCBs'
claims shall have been so waived.
In the event of such a
reduction in the claim credited to the Bank of Greece, the ECB
shall pay the Bank of Greece an amount in euro equal to the
amount of such reduction.

2.
The amount required to be paid by the ECB in accord-
ance with paragraph 1 shall be due as of the date such waiver
becomes effective. The ECB shall, in due course, give instruc-
tions for the transfer to the Bank of Greece on 30 March 2001
of any such amounts, and of accrued interest thereon, through
Target. Accrued interest shall be calculated from the date such
waiver becomes effective until 30 March 2001 at a rate equal
to the marginal
interest rate used by the ESCB in its most
recent main refinancing operation, and the calculation of
interest shall be effected on a daily basis, using the actual
over-360-day method of calculation.

Article 3

Final provisions

This Agreement shall enter into force on 1 January 2001.

This Agreement shall be drawn up in two duly signed originals
in the English language, one of which shall be retained by each
of the ECB and the Bank of Greece.

This Agreement shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 16 November 2000.

European Central Bank

Bank of Greece

Willem F. DUISENBERG

Lucas D. PAPADEMOS

President

Governor