Opinion of the European Central Bank of 17 December 2014 on credit requirements (CON/2014/88)
Date: 2014-12-17
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Estonia, banking supervision, central bank, credit, national law

EN  

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 17 December 2014 

on credit requirements 

(CON/2014/88) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 13 November 2014 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Estonian Ministry 

of Finance for an opinion on the Law on credit providers and credit intermediaries (hereinafter ‘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/EC1, as 

the  draft  law  relates  to  Eesti  Pank.  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  draft law relates to Eesti Pank’s powers  to  specify loan requirements. The  primary  aim of the  draft 

law is to harmonise the requirements applicable to undertakings operating in the financial market and to 

regulate  credit  provision  and  credit  intermediation  to  consumers.  The  draft  law  applies  to  financial 

institutions, other than credit institutions, whose principal economic activity is credit provision. Non-bank 

credit providers and credit intermediaries include also lessors and deferred payment providers. 

2. 

Macro-prudential objective 

The  draft  law  introduces  an  amendment  to  the  Law  on  credit  institutions  in  order  to  enhance  legal 

certainty and states expressly that the purpose of Eesti Pank’s power to specify certain loan requirements 

is macro-prudential supervision. 

The  Law  on  Eesti  Pank2  implementing  Recommendation  ESRB/2011/33  designates  Eesti  Pank  as  the 
macro-prudential authority in Estonia4. This law authorises Eesti Pank to conduct macro-prudential policy 

at a national level. Eesti Pank has numerous instruments it can use to achieve this objective including the 

faculty to establish loan requirements set forth in the draft law. 

1   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). 

2   Riigi Teataja I 1993, 28, 498. 
3   Recommendation ESRB/2011/3 of the European Systemic Risk Board of 22 December 2011 on the macro-prudential mandate 

of national authorities. Available on the website of the ESRB at www.esrb.europa.eu. 
4   See Opinion CON/2014/21. Available on the website of the ECB at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
ECB-PUBLIC 

3. 

General observations 

The  ECB  observes  that  the  powers  to  take  macro-prudential  measures  provided  for  in  Regulation  (EU) 
No  575/20135  and  Directive  2013/36/EU6  are  subject 
(EU) 
No 1024/20137(hereinafter  the  ‘SSM  Regulation’),  which  requires  national  competent  or  designated 

to  Article  5  of  Regulation 

authorities to notify  the ECB of their intention to take certain measures.  According to Article  5(2)  of  the 

SSM  Regulation,  the  ECB  may  apply  more  stringent  measures  aimed  at  addressing  macro-prudential 

risks. The ECB further notes that, pursuant to Article 9(1) of the SSM Regulation, the ECB may require 

national  competent  or  designated  authorities,  by  way  of  instructions,  to  make  use  of  their  macro-

prudential powers where the SSM Regulation does not confer such powers on the ECB. 

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 17 December 2014. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

5   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). 

6   Directive  2013/36/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  26  June  2013  on  the  access  to  the  activity  of  credit 
institutions  and  the  prudential  supervision  of  credit  institutions  and  investment  firms,  amending  Directive  2002/87/EC  and 
repealing Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 338). 

7   Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 of 15 October 2013 conferring specific tasks on the European Central Bank concerning 

policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions (OJ L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 63). 

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