Opinion of the European Central Bank of 31 October 2014 on the legal framework for cooperative banks (CON/2014/78)
Date: 2014-10-31
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Poland, banking supervision, cooperative bank, financial stability, national law, private-sector liquidity

EN  

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 31 October 2014  

on the legal framework for cooperative banks 

(CON/2014/78) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 26 September 2014, the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Polish Minister for 

Finance for an opinion on a draft law amending the Law on the functioning of cooperative banks, their 

affiliations and affiliating banks and certain other laws (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 sixth indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC1, 

as the draft law relates 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 law 

The primary aim of the draft law is to amend the legal framework for cooperative banks in order to give 

effect to the streamlining resulting from Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council2.  To this end, the  draft law  amends  the  Law  on the  functioning  of cooperative  banks, their 
affiliations and affiliating banks3 and certain other laws.  

The main changes that go beyond the adaptations required to give effect to Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 

are as follows:  

(a)  The draft law modifies the method of calculating Polish currency equivalents of amounts originally 

expressed  in  euro,  such  as  own  funds  requirements.  The  draft  law  aligns  this  method  with  the 

method used for the calculation of the Polish public debt. 

(b)  Under  the  draft  law  the  possibility  for  a  cooperative  bank  participating  in  an  affiliation  of 

cooperative  banks  to  terminate  its  membership  in  the  affiliation  will  also  be  available  for  a 

cooperative bank that is a member of an institutional protection scheme. Such termination would be 

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Council  Decision  98/415/EC  of  29  June  1998  on  consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national  authorities 
regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42). 
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements 
for credit institutions and investment firms and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 1).  
Consolidated text published in Dziennik Ustaw (Dz. U.) of 2014, item 109.   

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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subject  to  meeting  certain  capital  and  prudential requirements corresponding with those provided 

for in Regulation (EU) No 575/2013. 

(c)  The draft law includes a technical amendment to the definition of the term ‘affiliating bank’. The 

current list of such banks, whose function is to support the affiliation and to perform certain tasks 

on behalf of cooperative banks participating in the affiliation, will be replaced by a set of criteria 

and  requirements  that  need  to  be  met  by  a  credit  institution  in  order  for  it  to  be  deemed  an 

affiliating bank. 

2.  

ECB comments 

The ECB has no comments as regards the draft legislation. 

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 31 October 2014. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

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