Guideline of the European Central Bank of 20 July 2007 amending Guideline ECB/2006/28 on the management of the foreign reserve assets of the European Central Bank by the national central banks and the legal documentation for operations involving such assets (ECB/2007/6)
Date: 2007-07-20
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: European Central Bank, bank deposit, central bank, documentation, foreign-exchange reserves, management

L 196/46

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.7.2007

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

GUIDELINE OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 20 July 2007

amending Guideline ECB/2006/28 on the management of the foreign reserve assets of the European
Central Bank by the national central banks and the legal documentation for operations involving
such assets

(ECB/2007/6)

(2007/536/EC)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

(5)

Having regard to the Treaty
establishing the European
Community, and in particular to the third indent of Article
105(2) thereof,

that

qualify

For the purpose of
in the list of eligible
including,
instruments, a new instrument relating to interest rate
swaps
derivatives
operations where an exposure beyond certain thresholds
is secured, Guideline ECB/2006/28 should be further
amended to provide for interest rate swaps to be docu-
mented as over-the-counter derivatives operations,

as over-the-counter

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central
Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular the
third indent of Article 3.1 and Articles 12.1 and 30.6 thereof,

HAS ADOPTED THIS GUIDELINE:

Whereas:

Guideline ECB/2006/28 is amended as follows:

Article 1

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Pursuant to Article 30.1 of the Statute, the European
Central Bank (ECB) is provided by the national central
banks (NCBs) of the Member States that have adopted
the euro with foreign reserve assets and has the full right
to hold and manage the foreign reserves that are trans-
ferred to it.

1. Article 1 is replaced by the following:

‘For the purposes of this Guideline:

Pursuant to Articles 9.2 and 12.1 of the Statute, the ECB
may manage certain of its activities through the NCBs
and have recourse to the NCBs to carry out certain of its
operations. Accordingly, the ECB considers that the NCBs
should, as its agents, manage the foreign reserves trans-
ferred to it.

Pursuant
to Guideline ECB/2006/28 of 21 December
2006 on the management of the foreign reserve assets
of the European Central Bank by the national central
banks and the
legal documentation for operations
involving such assets (1), each NCB of a participating
Member State
required to carry out operations
involving the foreign reserve assets of the ECB as the
ECB’s agent using the legal documentation specified in
such Guideline.

is

The definition of
ECB/2006/28 should be modified to cater
future entry of Member States to the EMU.

‘European jurisdictions’

in Guideline
the
for

(1) OJ C 17, 28.1.2007, p. 5.

— “European jurisdictions” means the jurisdictions of all
Member States that have adopted the euro in accordance
with the Treaty, as well as Denmark, Sweden, Swit-
zerland and the United Kingdom (England and Wales
only),

— “participating NCB” means the NCB of a Member State

that has adopted the euro.’.

2. Article 3(1) and (2) is replaced by the following:

‘1.
All operations involving the foreign reserve assets of
the ECB shall be conducted using standard legal documen-
tation as required by this Article. However, the Executive
Board may decide to use a standard agreement set out in
Annex I, point 1(c) or 2(c) rather than the agreement set out
in Annex I, point 1(a) or 2(a) to this Guideline with respect
to a Member State upon the adoption of the euro if a legal
assessment in a form and with a substance acceptable to the
ECB is not available regarding the use of
the indicated
standard agreement
in that Member State. The Executive
Board shall promptly inform the Governing Council of any
decision taken under this provision.

28.7.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 196/47

Collateralised operations involving the foreign reserve
2.
assets of the ECB comprising repurchase agreements, reverse
repurchase agreements, buy/sell-back agreements and sell-
buy-back agreements, and all over-the-counter derivatives
operations involving the foreign reserve assets of the ECB
shall be documented under the standard agreements listed in
Annex I, in such forms as may be approved or amended by
the ECB from time to time.’.

3. Annex I, point 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2. All over-the-counter derivatives operations involving the
ECB’s foreign reserve assets (and including interest rate
swaps where the exposure is secured by collateral) must
be documented using the following standard agreements,
in such form as may be approved or amended by the
ECB from time to time:

(a)

the FBE Master Agreement for Financial Transactions
(Edition 2004)
for operations with counterparties
organised or incorporated under the laws of any of
the European jurisdictions;

(b) the 1992 International Swaps and Derivatives Asso-
ciation Master Agreement (Multicurrency — cross-
border, New York law version) for operations with

counterparties organised or incorporated under US
federal or state laws; and

(c)

the 1992 International Swaps and Derivatives Asso-
ciation Master Agreement (Multicurrency — cross-
border, English law version)
for operations with
counterparties organised or incorporated under the
laws of any jurisdiction other than those listed in
subparagraphs (a) or (b).’.

This Guideline shall enter into force on 27 July 2007.

Article 2

Article 3

This Guideline is addressed to the NCBs of the Member States
that have adopted the euro.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 20 July 2007.

For the Governing Council of the ECB
The President of the ECB

Jean-Claude TRICHET