Opinion of the European Central Bank of 21 July 2014 on the Central Credit Register (CON/2014/57)
Date: 2014-07-21
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Portugal, central bank, credit, disclosure of information, financial risk, financial stability, national law

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 21 July 2014 

on the Central Credit Register 

(CON/2014/57) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 30 May 2014 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Portuguese Minister of 

State  and  for  Finance  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft  decree-law  amending  Decree-Law  No  204/2008  of 

14 October 2008 establishing the  legal framework for the Central Credit Register (hereinafter the ‘draft 

decree-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  on  the  third  and  sixth  indents  of  Article 2(1)  of  Council 
Decision 98/415/EC1,  as  the  draft  decree-law  relates  to  the  Banco  de  Portugal  (BdP)  and  to  rules 

applicable to financial institutions insofar as they materially influence the stability of financial institutions 

and  markets.  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 decree-law 

1.1  The  draft  decree-law  introduces  changes  to  the  legal  framework  aimed  at  increasing  the 

information available to assess the risk involved in credit operations and in the acceptance of credit 

claims  as  a  guarantee  in  liquidity-providing  operations  of  the  BdP  and  the  Eurosystem.  It  also 
allows participating entities2 to access the company and sector tables in the Central Balance Sheet 

Database and establishes that the BdP may provide participating entities with historical information 

to  enable  borrowers  without  a  record  of  default  in  the  Central  Credit  Register  (Central  de 

Responsabilidades de Crédito - CRC) to negotiate improved credit conditions. 

1.2  Additionally, the draft decree-law authorises the BdP, under conditions to be defined by the BdP, to 

grant  access  to  information  on  legal  persons  to  credit  rating  agencies  solely  for  the  purpose  of 

1  

2  

Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national authorities 
regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42). 
According to Article 2(1), participating entities are: (a) institutions authorised to grant credit which have their head office 
in Portugal; (b) branches of institutions which have their head office abroad and which are authorised to grant credit in 
Portugal; (c) other entities with a permanent establishment in Portugal, designated by the BdP, which grant credit under 
special regimes or which acquire credit originally granted by the financial sector. 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
ECB-PUBLIC 

preparing ratings3, and clarifies that the information contained in the CRC may be used by both the 
BdP and the ECB to perform their respective tasks4. 

2. 

Specific observations 

2.1  The ECB generally welcomes initiatives that enable credit risk assessment systems to improve the 

quality  of  their  assessments.  More  informed  evaluation  of  credit  risk  can  benefit  the  financial 

market  in  general  and  the  Eurosystem  which  uses  credit  risk  assessments  in  its  collateral 

framework for monetary policy operations. 

2.2  The ECB also welcomes the fact that the data collected in the CRC can be shared with the ECB, 

thus supporting the performance of the ESCB’s tasks.  

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 21 July 2014. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

3 
4  

Article 6(7) of the draft decree-law. 
Article 5(2) of the draft decree-law. 

2