Notice of the European Central Bank on the imposition of sanctions for infringements of balance sheet statistical reporting requirements
Date: 2004-07-31
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: European Central Bank, data collection, economic statistics, financial statistics, sanction (EU)

C 195/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

31.7.2004

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

NOTICE OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK ON THE IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS FOR
INFRINGEMENTS OF BALANCE SHEET STATISTICAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

(2004/C 195/10)

1. Introduction

2. General principles

Article 7(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23
November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical infor-
mation by the European Central Bank (1) states that the Euro-
pean Central Bank (ECB) shall have the power to impose sanc-
tions on reporting agents which are subject
to reporting
requirements and residing in a participating Member State and
which fail to comply with the obligations resulting from that
Regulation or from ECB regulations or decisions defining and
imposing the ECB's statistical reporting requirements.

Article 7(4) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 sets forth the
maximum sanctions which the ECB may impose on reporting
agents:
in the event of an infringement of the obligation of
timeliness, a daily penalty not exceeding EUR 10 000, with the
total fine not exceeding EUR 100 000; in the event that the
statistical information supplied is incorrect, incomplete or in a
form not complying with the requirement, a fine not exceeding
EUR 200 000; and in the event of an infringement of the obli-
gation to allow the ECB or the national central banks (NCBs) to
verify the accuracy and quality of the supplied statistical infor-
mation, a fine not exceeding EUR 200 000.

Within the abovementioned limits, to ensure the transparency
of the ECB's sanctioning policy, this notice explains the princi-
ples which the ECB will follow, from the reference period
December 2004 for monthly reporting requirements and
fourth quarter 2004 for quarterly reporting requirements,
in
imposing sanctions for infringements of balance sheet statistical
reporting requirements due to failure to comply with the
minimum standards laid down in Annex IV to Regulation ECB/
2001/13 of 22 November 2001 concerning the consolidated
balance sheet of the monetary financial institutions sector (2).

(1) OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8.
(2) OJ L 333, 17.12.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation ECB/2003/10 (OJ L 250, 2.10.2003, p. 17).

Sanctions may be applied in the event of failure to comply
with minimum standards for transmission, including timeliness
(see Article 7(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 and Section
1 of Annex IV to Regulation ECB/2001/13), and with
minimum standards for accuracy and conceptual compliance
(see Article 7(2)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 and Sections
2 to 4 of Annex IV to Regulation ECB/2001/13).

A reporting agent complies with the minimum standards for
timeliness if it reports its balance sheet data by the deadline set
by the relevant NCB (see Section 1(a) of Annex IV). Verification
of compliance with the minimum standards for timeliness will
only take place with respect to a balance sheet that meets the
technical reporting requirements set by the NCB (e.g. in terms
of format) (see Section 1(b) to (d) of Annex IV).

A reporting agent complies with the minimum standards for
accuracy if its balance sheet data fulfil all linear constraints (e.g.
subtotals add up to totals) and data are consistent across
frequencies.

A reporting agent complies with the minimum standards for
conceptual compliance if its balance sheet data meet the defini-
tions and classifications set out in Regulation ECB/2001/13.

For these types of infringements, the method of determining
the sanction will be based on the principles laid down in
Sections 3 and 4 below, starting with the derivation of a base-
line amount which may then be reduced or increased in the
light of attenuating or aggravating circumstances as referred to
in Article 2(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 of 23
November 1998 concerning the powers of
the European
Central Bank to impose sanctions (3).

Exceptionally, the ECB may decide not to sanction an infringe-
ment due to particularly important attenuating circumstances.

(3) OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 4.

31.7.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 195/9

In the case of serious misconduct, the ECB will not follow the
principles laid down in Sections 3 and 4 below, rather it will
determine the sanction on a case-by-case basis, subject to the
principle of proportionality and the limit of EUR 200 000 laid
down in Article 7(4) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98. The term
'serious misconduct'
reporting
requirements by reporting agents such as intentional incorrect
reporting and/or a manifestly insufficient degree of diligence or
cooperation. Serious misconduct includes the following situa-
tions:

to infringements of

refers

(a) systematic failure to comply with the minimum standards

for revisions;

(b) incorrect reporting due to fraudulent behaviour;

(c) systematic reporting of incorrect data;

rounding nature or negligible errors. In addition, as regards
conceptual non-compliance, ordinary revisions,
i.e. non-
systematic revisions to the series reported within the period
(month or quarter) following the first reporting, will not be
considered as cases of conceptual non-compliance.

4. Aggravating and attenuating circumstances concerning

infringements other than serious misconduct

Aggravating and/or attenuating circumstances will be taken
into account and may result in an increase or decrease of the
baseline amount.

Aggravating circumstances include the following situations, as
referred to in Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2532/98:

(d) blatant failure to cooperate with the relevant NCB and/or

(a) repeated and/or frequent infringements;

the ECB.

3. Baseline amount of the sanction applied to infringe-

ments other than serious misconduct

The determination of the sanction starts from the derivation of
a baseline amount. This amount reflects quantitative aspects.
The baseline amount will increase according to the seriousness
of the infringement.

In the case of infringement of the obligation of timeliness, the
seriousness of the infringement will depend on the number of
working days of delay with respect to the deadline set by the
relevant NCB. In addition, the amount of the sanction will vary
in accordance with the economic size of the reporting agent,
measured by the total assets/liabilities of its balance sheet.

In the case of inaccuracy and/or conceptual non-compliance,
the seriousness of the infringement will depend on the size of
the discrepancy between the inaccurate and/or conceptually
non-compliant balance sheet data and accurate and/or concep-
tually compliant data. The amount of the sanction will also
reflect the economic size of the reporting agent. In assessing
infringements concerning inaccuracy and/or conceptual non-
compliance, the ECB will not take into account errors of a

(b) refusal to cooperate or ineffective cooperation;

(c) prior sanctions imposed by other authorities on the same

reporting agent and based on the same facts;

(d) profits obtained by the reporting agent by reason of the

infringement.

Attenuating circumstances include the following situations, as
referred to in Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2532/98:

(a) diligence and effective cooperation shown by the reporting
if the reporting agent continues to

in particular,

agent,
report data to the NCB;

(b) good faith;

(c) openness of the reporting agent in the interpretation and

fulfilment of its reporting requirements;

(d) lack of impact of the infringement (e.g. concerning infringe-
ments of the obligation of timeliness, a lower sanction will
be applied if, although late, the reporting agent reports its
balance sheet data in time to allow the NCB to include it in
the transmission of the national aggregates to the ECB);

(e) infrequent infringements.