Opinion of the European Central Bank of 21 May 2010 on certain provisions relating to the Banque de France (CON/2010/44)

Date: 2010-05-21
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: France, central bank, financial stability, financial supervision, institutional activity, national law, supervisory power

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 21 May 2010 

on certain provisions relating to the Banque de France 

(CON/2010/44) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  19  April  2010  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  French  Ministry  for 

Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment for an opinion on certain provisions of a draft law ratifying 

Order  No  2010-76  of  21  January  2010  merging  the  banking  and  insurance  licensing  and  supervisory 

authorities (hereinafter the ‘draft law’). 

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 the third indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC of 

29 June 1998  on  the  consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national  authorities  regarding  draft 
legislative  provisions1,  as  the  draft  law  relates  to  the  Banque  de  France.  In  accordance  with  the  first 

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 law 

1.1  The  draft  law  provides  for  the  ratification  of  the  order  that  created  the  new  Prudential  Control 
Authority2. It modifies the composition of the Banque de France’s General Council (hereinafter the 

‘General Council’) and provides that the Prudential Control Authority’s Vice-President becomes a 
member of the General Council3. It also clarifies that the Banque de France, the Prudential Control 

Authority and the Financial Markets Authority are to cooperate with each other and that they may 
share the information necessary for the performance of their tasks4. 

2. 

General observations 

2.1   The  ECB  understands  that  the  reason  for  the  Prudential  Control  Authority’s  Vice-President 

becoming  a  member  of  the  General  Council  is  to  strengthen  the  links  between  the  Prudential 

1  
2  
3  
4  

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
See Opinion CON/2010/4. All opinions are published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
Article L. 142-3 of the French Monetary and Financial Code as amended by the draft law. 
Article L. 631-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code as amended by the draft law. 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Control Authority and the Banque de France. The General Council is, inter alia, responsible for the 

administration  of  the  Banque  de  France,  managing  the  Banque  de  France’s  activities  other  than 

those related to the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), deciding on the use of own funds, 

and drawing-up projected and amended expenditure budgets to ensure that the Banque de France is 

allocated  the  necessary  resources  for  carrying  out  the  tasks  delegated  to  it  due  to  its  ESCB 
participation5. The ECB understands that the General Council will therefore be the competent body 

within Banque de France for deciding on the allocation of additional contributions to the Prudential 
Control  Authority6.  In  this  context,  the  ECB  considers  that  the  participation  of  the  Prudential 

Control Authority’s Vice-President in the General Council does not affect the Banque de France’s 
financial independence7. 

2.2   The  ECB  welcomes  the  provision  that  provides  for  information  sharing  between  the  national 

supervisory  authorities  and  the  Banque  de  France  for  the  performance  of  their  tasks.  The  ECB 

understands that, prior to the establishment of the Prudential Control Authority and the setting-up 

of  structured  collaboration  between  the  Prudential  Control  Authority  and  the  Financial  Markets 

Authority,  the  national  supervisory  authorities  and  the  Banque  de  France  did  cooperate  and  were 

able to share the information required for their respective tasks. Information sharing remains crucial 

following  the  establishment  of  the  Prudential  Control  Authority  as  an  independent  administrative 

authority closely connected to the Banque de France. 

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 21 May 2010. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Jean-Claude TRICHET 

5 

6  
7  

The General Council is also responsible for examining issues relating to the terms of employment of staff and approving 
the Banque de France’s balance sheet and accounts, allocating profits and fixing the State’s share of the dividend. See 
Article L.141-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code. 
Article L. 612-18 of the French Monetary and Financial Code. 
The ECB’s Convergence Report 2008, p. 20. The principle of financial independence implies that a national central bank 
must  have  sufficient  means  not  only  to  perform  ESCB-related  tasks  but  also  its  own  national  tasks  (e.g.  financing  its 
administration and own operations). 

2