2004/47/EC: Decision of the European Central Bank of 18 December 2003 laying down the measures necessary for the contribution to the European Central Bank's reserves and provisions and for adjusting the national central banks' claims equivalent to the transferred foreign reserve assets (ECB/2003/21)
Date: 2003-12-18
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: European Central Bank, European System of Central Banks, Member States' contribution, banking, banking policy, central bank

L 9/36

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Official Journal of the European Union

15.1.2004

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 18 December 2003

laying down the measures necessary for the contribution to the European Central Bank's reserves
and provisions and for adjusting the national central banks' claims equivalent to the transferred
foreign reserve assets

(ECB/2003/21)

(2004/47/EC)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central
Banks and of the European Central Bank and in particular
Article 30 thereof,

NCBs for the purpose of calculating the adjustment of
the value of each participating NCB's share in the ECB's
accumulated equity value,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(hereinafter

(ECB's) capital

The adjustment of the key for subscription to the Euro-
pean Central Bank's
the
capital key) results in adjustments to the weightings
assigned to the national central banks of the Member
States that have adopted the euro (hereinafter the partici-
pating NCBs) in the ECB's capital key (hereinafter the
capital key weightings) as provided for in Decision ECB/
2003/17 of 18 December 2003 on the national central
banks' percentage shares in the key for subscription to
the European Central Bank's capital (1). The adjustments
to the capital key weightings and the resulting changes
in the participating NCBs' shares in the ECB's subscribed
capital make it necessary to adjust the claims which the
ECB has credited under Article 30.3 of the Statute to the
participating NCBs and which are equivalent
to the
participating NCBs' contributions of
foreign reserve
assets to the ECB (hereinafter the claims).

Those participating NCBs whose percentage share in the
adjusted capital key increases due to the adjustment
should therefore effect a compensatory transfer to the
ECB, while the ECB should effect a compensatory
transfer to those participating NCBs whose percentage
share in the adjusted capital key decreases.

In accordance with the general principles of fairness,
equal treatment and the protection of legitimate expecta-
tions underlying the Statute, those participating NCBs
whose relative share in the ECB's accumulated equity
value increases due to the abovementioned adjustments
should also effect a compensatory transfer to those parti-
cipating NCBs whose relative share decreases.

The respective capital key weightings of each partici-
pating NCB until 31 December 2003 and from 1
January 2004 should be expressed as a percentage of the
ECB's total capital as subscribed to by all participating

(1) See page 27 of this Official Journal.

Article 1

Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision:

(a) The ‘accumulated equity value’ shall mean the total of the
ECB's reserves, revaluation accounts and provisions equiva-
lent to reserves as stated in the ECB's annual accounts and
approved by the Governing Council for the financial year
2003. The ECB's reserves and those provisions equivalent
to reserves shall include, without limitation to the gener-
ality of the ‘accumulated equity value’, the general reserve
fund and the provisions equivalent to reserves for valuation
losses with respect to foreign exchange rates and market
prices.

(b) The ‘transfer date’ shall mean the second business day
following the Governing Council's approval of the ECB's
annual accounts for the financial year 2003.

Article 2

Contribution to the ECB's reserves and provisions

This Article shall only apply if the accumulated equity

1.
value is greater than zero.

If a participating NCB's share in the accumulated equity
2.
value increases due to the increase in its capital key weighting
from 1 January 2004, such an NCB shall transfer to the ECB
on the transfer date the amount determined pursuant to para-
graph 4.

3.
If a participating NCB's share in the accumulated equity
value decreases due to the decrease in its capital key weighting
from 1 January 2004, such an NCB shall receive from the ECB
on the transfer date the amount determined pursuant to para-
graph 4.

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 9/37

The ECB shall, in due course, calculate and confirm to
4.
each participating NCB either the amount to be transferred by
that NCB to the ECB where paragraph 2 applies, or the amount
to be received by that NCB from the ECB where paragraph 3
applies. Subject to rounding, each amount to be transferred or
received shall be calculated by multiplying the accumulated
equity value by the absolute difference between each partici-
pating NCB's capital key weighting on 31 December 2003 and
its capital key weighting from 1 January 2004 and dividing the
result by 100.

5.
Each amount described in paragraph 4 shall be due in
euro on 1 January 2004 but shall be effectively transferred on
the transfer date.

On the transfer date, a participating NCB or the ECB
6.
having to transfer an amount under paragraph 2 or paragraph
3 shall also separately transfer any interest accruing over the
period from 1 January 2004 until the transfer date on each of
the respective amounts due from such participating NCB and
the ECB. The transferors and recipients of this interest shall be
the same as the transferors and recipients of the amounts on
which the interest accrues.

Article 3

Adjustment of the claims equivalent to the transferred
foreign reserve assets

The participating NCBs' claims shall be adjusted on 1
1.
January 2004 in accordance with their adjusted capital key
weightings. The value of the participating NCBs' claims from 1
January 2004 is set out in the third column of the table in the
Annex to this Decision.

2.
Each participating NCB shall, by virtue of this provision
and without any further formality or act being required, be
considered to have either transferred or received on 1 January
2004 the absolute value of the claim (in euro) set out next to
its name in the fourth column of the table in the Annex to this
Decision, whereby ‘-’ shall refer to a claim that the NCB shall
transfer to the ECB and ‘+’ to a claim that the ECB shall transfer
to the NCB.

On 2 January 2004, each participating NCB shall either
3.
transfer or receive the absolute value of the amount (in euro)
set out next to its name in the fourth column of the table in

the Annex to this Decision, whereby ‘+’ shall refer to an
amount that the NCB shall transfer to the ECB and ‘-’ to an
amount that the ECB shall transfer to the NCB.

4.
On 2 January 2004, the ECB and the participating NCBs
that are under an obligation to transfer amounts under para-
graph 3 shall also separately transfer any interest accruing over
the period from 1 January 2004 until 2 January 2004 on the
respective amounts due from the ECB and such NCBs. The
transferors and recipients of this interest shall be the same as
the transferors and recipients of the amounts on which the
interest accrues.

Article 4

General provisions

1.
The interest accruing under paragraph 6 of Article 2 and
paragraph 4 of Article 3 shall be calculated on a daily basis,
using the actual 360-day method of calculation, at a rate equal
to the marginal interest rate used by the European System of
Central Banks in its most recent main refinancing operation.

2.
Each transfer pursuant to paragraphs 2, 3 and 6 of Article
2 and paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 3 shall take place sepa-
rately through the Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross
settlement Express Transfer system (TARGET).

3.
The ECB and the participating NCBs that are under an
obligation to make any of the transfers referred to in paragraph
2 shall, in due course, give the necessary instructions for duly
executing such transfers on time.

Article 5

Final provisions

This Decision shall enter into force on 19 December

1.
2003.

This Decision will be published in the Official Journal of

2.
the European Union.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 18 December 2003.

For the Governing Council of the ECB

Jean-Claude TRICHET

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Official Journal of the European Union

15.1.2004

ANNEX

CLAIMS EQUIVALENT TO THE FOREIGN RESERVE ASSETS TRANSFERRED TO THE ECB

Participating NCB

Claim equivalent to the
foreign reserve assets
transferred to the ECB,
on 31 December 2003

Claim equivalent to the
foreign reserve assets
transferred to the ECB,
from 1 January 2004

(in EUR)

Amount of transfer

Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale
de Belgique

1 432 900 000

1 414 850 000

– 18 050 000

Deutsche Bundesbank

12 246 750 000

11 702 000 000

– 544 750 000

Bank of Greece

Banco de España

Banque de France

Central Bank and Financial Services Authority
of Ireland

1 028 200 000

1 080 700 000

+ 52 500 000

4 446 750 000

4 390 050 000

– 56 700 000

8 416 850 000

8 258 750 000

– 158 100 000

424 800 000

512 700 000

+ 87 900 000

Banca d'Italia

7 447 500 000

7 286 300 000

– 161 200 000

Banque centrale du Luxembourg

74 600 000

85 400 000

+ 10 800 000

De Nederlandsche Bank

2 139 000 000

2 216 150 000

+ 77 150 000

Oesterreichische Nationalbank

1 179 700 000

1 150 950 000

– 28 750 000

Banco de Portugal

Suomen Pankki

961 600 000

1 006 450 000

+ 44 850 000

698 500 000

714 900 000

+ 16 400 000

Total:

40 497 150 000

39 819 200 000

– 677 950 000