Opinion of the European Central Bank of 3 June 2013 on the new supervisory tasks of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (CON/2013/40)
Date: 2013-06-03
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Hungary, central bank, financial institution, financial supervision, futures market, national law, payment system

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 3 June 2013 

on the new supervisory tasks of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank 

(CON/2013/40) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 16 May 2013, the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Hungarian Ministry for 

the  National  Economy  (hereinafter  the  ‘consulting  authority’)  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft  law  amending 

several financial-law related legal acts (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  and  fifth  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 concerns rules applicable to the Magyar Nemzeti 

Bank (MNB) and to payment and settlement systems. 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  consultation  request  states  that  the  Law  on  the  MNB  needs  to  be  amended  in  order  to 

harmonise Hungarian law with Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  4 July  2012  on  OTC  derivatives,  central  counterparties  and  trade  repositories2 

(hereinafter  ‘EMIR’),  as  well  as  with  Regulation  (EU)  No  260/2012  of  the  European  Parliament 

and  of the  Council  of  14 March  2012 establishing  technical  and  business  requirements for credit 
transfers and direct debits in euro3 (hereinafter ‘SEPA’)4. To this end, the draft law amends several 

Hungarian laws; furthermore, it also contains provisions concerning other aspects going beyond the 

harmonisation of national legislation, as described in the following.  

1.2   The  draft  law  contains  amendments  of  the  Law  on  credit  institutions  and  financial  enterprises5, 

which aim, inter alia, to regulate the market for, and the issuing, redemption, and supervision of 

activities  and  enterprises  involved  in  issuing  negotiable  vouchers  not  constituting  legal  tender 

1  
2  
3  
4  
5  

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
OJ L 201, 27.7.2012, p. 1. 
OJ L 94, 30.3.2012, p. 22. 
Articles 14(1), 15(1), 18, 20, 20(1), 35, 41(1), 49(1), 54(1) of EMIR and Article 10 of SEPA. 
Law CXII of 1996. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
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(hereinafter  ‘negotiable  vouchers’),  and  it  also  contains  rules  on  the  role  of  the  MNB  as  the 

competent authority for registering and supervising entities issuing negotiable vouchers. 

1.3   The draft law purports to amend several laws governing specific segments of the financial markets, 
including  inter  alia  the  Law  on  capital  markets6,  the  Law  on  settlement  finality  in  payment  and 
securities  settlement  systems7,  the  Law  on  investment  firms  and  commodity  exchange  service 
providers and the rules of their activities8, the Law on consumer credit9, the Law on the Financial 
Supervisory  Authority10,  the  Law  on  the  financial  stability  of  Hungary11,  and  the  Law  on  the 
MNB12. 

1.4  The draft law purports to amend the following aspects of the Law on the MNB: (i) the scope of 

central bank audit of the issuers of negotiable vouchers; (ii) the sanctions that may be imposed by 

the  MNB  where  it  establishes  a  breach  of  applicable  rules  during  a  central  bank  audit;  (iii)  the 

deadlines for certain administrative procedures carried out by the MNB; and (iv) the scope of the 

legislative powers of the Governor of the MNB. 

2.   General observations 

2.1  Appropriate time to consult the ECB 

The  request  for  an  urgent  opinion  was  justified  by  the  consulting  authority  by  the  fact  that  the 

Hungarian Parliament intended to adopt the draft law in the course of May. 

According to Article 4 of Decision 98/415/EC 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 allows the ECB sufficient time to examine the draft legislative provisions 

and  adopt  its  opinion,  and  the  national  authorities  to  take  into  account  the  ECB’s  views  in 

accordance  with  Decision  98/415/EC.  Therefore,  the  ECB  would  appreciate  the  consulting 

authority honouring its obligation to consult the ECB in good time in future. 

2.2 

Scope of the consultation 

Article 2(1) of Decision 98/415/EC provides that national authorities shall consult the ECB on any 

draft  legislative  provision  within  its  field  of  competence  pursuant  to  the  Treaty.  Article 2(1)  of 

Decision 98/415/EC contains a non-exhaustive list of matters which fall within the ECB’s field of 

competence, and on which the ECB must be consulted by national authorities. 

6  
7  
8  
9  
10  
11  
12  

Law CXX of 2001.  
Law XXIII of 2003. 
Law CXXXVIII of 2007. 
Law CLXII of 2009. 
Law CLVIII of 2010. 
Law CXCIV of 2011. 
Law CCVIII of 2011. 

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While  the  draft  law  contains  111 articles,  the  consulting  authority  requested  the  ECB’s  opinion 
only  in  respect  of  Articles 99  to 105  of  the  draft  law13.  The  consulting  authority  is  invited  to 

carefully  consider  whether  any  of  the  other  provisions  of  the  draft  law  are  subject  to  the 

requirement to consult the ECB. 

Given the urgent nature of the consultation request, the ECB has considered only the provisions on 
which its opinion was requested14. 

3. 

Specific observations 

3.1  Changes to the legal framework of the MNB 

The draft law again purports to amend the recently adopted Law on the MNB15. The frequency of 
amendments to the Law on the MNB has been criticised in previous ECB Opinions16, as it does not 

provide the solid legal framework necessary for the central bank’s functioning. 

The  ECB  again  emphasises  its  preference  for  addressing  the  outstanding  issues17  concerning  the 

strengthening  of  the  MNB’s  independence  as  part  of  the  present  parliamentary  procedure  on 

amendments to the Law on the MNB, in order to avoid the need for further amendments at a later 

stage. 

3.2  Harmonisation of national legislation and additional provisions 

3.2.1  In accordance with Decision 98/415/EC, this opinion is limited to those provisions of the draft law 

which  relate  to  the  MNB  and  which  go  beyond  harmonisation  of  national  law  with  EMIR  and 

SEPA. 

3.2.2  While the EBC welcomes in general the fact that, under the draft law, the MNB is appointed as the 

competent  authority  responsible  for  ensuring  compliance  with  SEPA,  it  notes  that  Article 10  of 

SEPA  provides  that  each  Member  State  was  to  designate  its  competent  authority  by  1 February 

2013.  

3.2.3  The ECB welcomes the fact that the Hungarian market for negotiable vouchers is to be regulated, 

and understands that: (a) negotiable vouchers do not fall within the scope of Directive 2007/64/EC 

of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2007 on payment services in the 
internal  market18;  and  (b)  regulation  of  this  area  will  clearly  define  the  central  bank’s  role  by 

providing  for  that  the  MNB  is  responsible  for  registering  and  supervising  entities  involved  in 

issuing negotiable vouchers, thereby ensuring consumer protection in this area. 

13  

14  
15  
16  

17  

18  

Article 106, which was not the subject of the consultation request, also purports to amend the Law on the MNB. Articles 
2, 3, 12, 49 and 73 of the draft law also concern the role of MNB. 
I.e. Articles 99 to 105 of the draft law. 
The new Law on the MNB came into effect on 1 January 2012. 
See,  for  example,  CON/2010/91,  CON/2011/104  and  CON/2012/43.  All  ECB  opinions  are  published  on  the  ECB’s 
website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
See  CON/2011/104,  CON/2011/106  and  CON/2012/43,  as  well  as  section  6.5  of  the  ECB’s  May  2012  Convergence 
Report, and Section 6.6 of the May 2010 Convergence Report. 
OJ L 319, 5.12.2007, p. 1. 

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3.2.4  As regards the amendment of the legislative powers of the Governor of the MNB, the ECB would 

like  to  point  out,  in  line  with  the  point  made  in  paragraph 2.2,  that  draft  national  legislation 

prepared for adoption by the Governor of the MNB falls within the competence of the ECB and is 

therefore  subject  to  the  consultation  requirement,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Decision 

98/145/EC. 

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 3 June 2013. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

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