Opinion of the European Central Bank of 29 January 2013 on new competences granted to Banca Naţională a României concerning sovereign debt and sovereign credit default swaps (CON/2013/6)
Date: 2013-01-29
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Romania, capital market, central bank, competence of the institution, national law, public debt, securities

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 29 January 2013  

on new competences granted to Banca Naţională a României concerning sovereign debt and 

sovereign credit default swaps 

(CON/2013/6) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  16  January  2013,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  Banca  Naţională  a 

României  (BNR)  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft  Government  Emergency  Ordinance  establishing  certain 

measures for implementing Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council 

on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps  (hereinafter the ‘draft legal act’). 

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  legal  act  relates  to  BNR.  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 legal act 

For the purposes of implementing Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 14 March 2012 on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps2, BNR is designated 

as the national competent authority responsible for ensuring the application of the Regulation in respect of 

transactions  relating  to sovereign debt  issued  by Romania  or  related sovereign credit  default swaps. To 

this end, BNR is also responsible for taking measures and imposing sanctions against any natural or legal 

person who violates the provisions of the Regulation, any acts enacted at Union level under the scope of 

the Regulation, or any regulations issued by BNR under the draft legal act. BNR is also given the power 

to coordinate cooperation and exchange of information in relation to application of the Regulation with 

the European Commission, the European Securities and Markets Authority and competent authorities of 

other  Member  States,  as  well  as  with  competent  authorities  from  third  countries.  On  the  basis  of  the 

1  
2  

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.   
OJ L 86, 24.3.2012, p. 1. 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
ECB-PUBLIC 

explanatory  memorandum  to  the  draft  law,  such  powers  are  assigned  to  BNR  because  of  its  functions 
related to the organisation of a Romanian market for sovereign debt instruments3.  

2. 

The appropriate time to consult the ECB  

As Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 has been applicable since 1 November 2012, the consulting authority 

invokes  reasons  of  extreme  urgency  and  asks  the  ECB  to  deliver  its  opinion  by  31  January  2013.  The 

ECB draws the consulting authority’s attention to the second sentence of Article 4 of Decision 98/415/EC 

pursuant  to  which  the  ECB  must  be  consulted  ‘at  an  appropriate  stage’  in  the  legislative  process.  This 

implies that the consultation should take place at a point in the legislative process that affords the ECB 

sufficient time to carefully examine the draft legislative provisions and to adopt its opinion in the required 

language versions and which also enables the relevant national authorities to take the ECB’s opinion into 

consideration before the provisions are adopted.   

3. 

Impact of allocating additional tasks to BNR 

3.1  The  ECB  understands  that  powers  related  to  the  application  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  236/2012  in 

Romania  are  to  be  performed  by  two  authorities  which  are  to  act  as  designated  authorities  under 

Article  32  of  the  Regulation:  (a)  the  Romanian  National  Securities  Commission  (Comisia 

Naţională a Valorilor Mobiliare) (CNVM), in relation to securities markets, with the exception of 
markets for Romanian sovereign debt and related sovereign credit default swaps4, and (b) BNR, in 

relation to Romanian sovereign debt and related sovereign credit default swaps. BNR is also to act 

as a coordinating authority under the second paragraph of Article 32 of the Regulation.  

3.2  BNR will need to commit additional human and financial resources to carry out the tasks derived 

from  these  new  competences.  The  ECB  has  consistently  stated  that,  when  allocating  additional 

tasks  to  national  central  banks,  it  must  be  ensured  that  they  have  sufficient  human  and  financial 

resources,  both  in  terms  of  quantity  and  quality,  for  all  of  their  tasks,  and  in  particular  that  their 

capacity  to  fulfil  their  European  System  of  Central  Banks  or  Eurosystem-related  tasks  is  not 
affected5.  

3  

4  

5   

See Article 29 of Law No 312/2004 on the Statute of Banca Naţională a României, Monitorul oficial al României Part  I 
No 582/2004. 
See Law No 297/2004 on the capital market, Monitorul oficial al României Part I No 571/2004. The CNVM is scheduled 
to  be  replaced  by  the  Romanian  Financial  Supervisory  Authority  on  15  March  2013  (see  Government  Emergency 
Ordinance No 93/2012, Monitorul oficial al României Part I No 874/2012). 
See the ECB’s Convergence Report 2012, p. 25. See also Opinion CON/2011/105. All ECB opinions are published on 
the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

2 

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 29 January 2013. 

[signed] 

The Vice-President of the ECB 

Vítor CONSTÂNCIO 

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