Opinion of the European Central Bank of 31 August 2016 on a central credit register (CON/2016/42)
Date: 2016-08-31
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Slovenia, central bank, credit, data collection, data protection, database, exchange of information, financial stability, national law, statistics

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 31 August 2016  

on a central credit register  

(CON/2016/42) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  29  July  2016,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  Slovenian  Ministry  of 

Finance for an opinion on a draft law on the central credit register (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,  fourth  and  sixth  indents  of  Article  2(1)  of  Council 
Decision  98/415/EC1,  as  the  draft  law  relates  to  Banka  Slovenije,  the  collection,  compilation  and 

distribution of financial and banking statistics, and the 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 

1.1.  The draft law lays down the legal framework governing the establishment and operation of a central 

credit  register  (hereinafter,  the  ‘credit  register’)  and  an  electronic  information  exchange  system 

(hereinafter,  the  ‘information  exchange  system’)  by  Banka  Slovenije.  The  credit  register  will  be  a 

centralised  collection  of  data  concerning  credit  transactions  with  natural  persons  and  business 

entities  and  concerning  credit  risks  and  other  exposures  in  relation  to  business  entities. 

The information  exchange  system,  which  is  to  form  part  of  the  credit  register,  constitutes  an 

electronic system for the exchange of data and information relating to the indebtedness of business 

entities and natural persons. 

1.2.  The aims of the draft law are: (1) to facilitate the implementation of Banka Slovenije’s measures in 

the  fields  of  monetary  policy,  macro-prudential  supervision  and  ensuring  financial  stability;  (2)  to 

enable the effective management of credit risk; and (3) to renew the national reporting framework 

on  credit  and  credit  risk  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  framework  laid  down  in  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/867 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2016/13)2. 

1.3.  The  management  of  the  credit  register  by  Banka  Slovenije  will  include:  (1)  the  standardised 

collection of data and information on credit transactions and  other exposures; (2) the processing, 

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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). 
Regulation  (EU)  2016/867  of  the  European  Central  Bank  of  18  May  2016  on  the  collection  of  granular  credit  and 
credit risk data (ECB/2016/13) (OJ L 144, 1.6.2016, p. 44). 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
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storage, analysis and dissemination of data for purposes of statistical research 3 and in connection 

with other tasks and objectives of Banka Slovenije; and (3) ensuring the existence of a set of data 

relating to the indebtedness of business entities and  natural persons in the  information exchange 

system. 

1.4.  Under  the  draft  law,  Banka  Slovenije  will  collect  the  data  on  credit  and  credit  risk  of  business 

entities for the credit register from reporting units on the basis of standardised reporting. The data 

on the indebtedness of natural persons will be collected exclusively from the reporting units, which 

will at the same time also be members of the information exchange system. The draft law requires 

reporting units to report to Banka Slovenije data for the credit register on the first reference date for 

reporting.  It  also  sets  out  rules  on  the  scope  of  the  collection  and  processing  of  data  of  natural 

persons  and  the  applicable  retention  periods  in  respect  of  such  data.  Personal  information 

contained  in the credit register  is to be processed in accordance  with the requirements set out in 
the draft law and the Law on protection of personal data4.  

1.5.  The draft law authorises Banka Slovenije to adopt implementing legislation on the scope, content 

and methods of collecting, processing, disseminating and transmitting the data and information of 

business entities to be held in the credit register.  

1.6.  The draft law also regulates the protection of the confidentiality of data in the credit register, as well 

as permissible uses and transmission of such data. 

1.7.  The  draft  law  explicitly  states  that  the  credit  register  is  to  be  established  in  order  to  facilitate 

statistical  research  that  is  to  be  carried  out  by  Banka  Slovenije,  based  on  the  Law  on  Banka 

Slovenije and Article 5 of the Statute of the ESCB. This research is to be conducted to support the 

carrying  out  of  Banka  Slovenije’s  tasks,  in  particular  in  the  fields  of:  (1)  the  conduct  of  monetary 

policy; (2) ensuring financial stability; and (3) macro-prudential supervision and risk management. 

The  draft  law  further  provides  that  Banka  Slovenije  shall  also  process  the  data  collected  in  the 

credit register for the purposes of carrying out its supervisory tasks in accordance with the Law on 
banking5  and  Regulation  (EU)  No  575/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council6,  as 

well  as  for  the  supervision  of  other  entities  in  accordance  with  other  laws.  Furthermore,  the  draft 

law provides that Banka Slovenije may, for the abovementioned purposes, link the part of the credit 

register’s  database  that  relates  to  the  data  of  business  entities  to  other  databases  managed  by 

Banka Slovenije, as well as to databases established and managed by the ECB for the purposes of 

carrying out the ECB’s tasks in accordance with the  Statute of the ESCB and Council Regulation 
(EC) 2533/987. 

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4 
5  
6 

7 

The  legal  bases  for  the  statistical  research  carried  out  by  Banka  Slovenije  are  Article  13  of  the  Law  on  Banka 
Slovenije  (Zakon  o  Banki  Slovenije)  (ZBS-1)  (Ur.  l.  RS  No  72/06  –  official  consolidated  text,  and  59/11)  and 
Article 5 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter the 
‘Statute of the ESCB’). 
Zakon o varstvu osebnih podatkov (ZVOP-1) (Ur. l. RS No 94/07 – official consolidated text). 

Zakon o bančništvu (ZBan-2) (Ur. l. RS No 25/15 and 44/16 ZRPPB). 
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). 
Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the 
European Central Bank (OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8). 

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1.8.  The  information  exchange  system  is  to  be  set  up  as  a  part  of  the  credit  register  that  enables  its 

members to access individualised data on the credit risks of natural persons and business entities. 

Its purpose is to facilitate the efficient assessment of credit risk, both in terms of the initial decision 

to  grant  credit  and  in  terms  of  the  ongoing  assessment  of  existing  exposures,  and  to  promote 

policies  and  measures  for  responsible  lending  and  sustainable  indebtedness  of  natural  persons 

and  business  entities.  The  management  of  the  information  exchange  system  includes  the 

integration of data and information on business entities and natural persons from the credit register 

into  the  information  exchange  system  and  the  centralised  processing  of  data  and  information, 

which  includes  printouts  of  individualised  data.  The  draft  law  specifies  which  members  are 

reporting  units  that  must  mandatorily  be  included  in  the  information  exchange  system  and 

establishes retention periods for the data in the information exchange system. It also delineates the 

scope of the data to be contained in the information exchange system, with respect both to natural 

persons and business entities. The draft law regulates access to data in the information exchange 

system  by  its  members,  who  must  fulfil  technical  and  security  requirements  to  be  determined  by 

Banka  Slovenije  in  implementing  legislation.  The  draft  law  also  lays  down  the  rules  on  the 

protection  of  the  confidentiality  of  information  by  members  of  the  information  exchange  system. 

The draft law governs the right of the natural persons to be informed about their personal data in 

the  information  exchange  system,  in  accordance  with  the  Law  on  protection  of  personal  data. 

Furthermore,  the  draft  law  establishes  the  right  of  business  entities  to  be  informed  of  the 

processing of data in the information exchange system. 

1.9.  The draft law provides that Banka Slovenije will carry out supervision of reporting units in order to 

ensure  the  fulfilment  of  their  obligation  to  report  the  data  to  the  credit  register.  In  order  to  obtain 

information  about  and  perform  due  diligence  on  a  reporting  unit,  Banka  Slovenije  will  carry  out 

supervision on the basis of the Law on banking.  

1.10.  The draft law provides that reporting units will report data and information for the credit register to 

Banka Slovenije free of charge. The members of the information exchange system will pay a fee to 

be  established  by  Banka  Slovenije  in  the  implementing  legislation,  which  will  cover  both 

membership  of  the  system  and  access  to  the  information  contained  in  it.  The  fee  to  be  paid  by 

business  entities  in  order  to  receive  information  concerning  the  data  held  about  them  in  the 

information  exchange  system  is  to  be  established  in  Banka  Slovenije’s  implementing  legislation; 

whereas the fee to be paid by natural persons will be in accordance with the relevant provisions of 

the Law on protection of personal data. 

2. 

Scope of the opinion 

This  opinion  focuses  on:  (1)  specific  aspects  of  the  operation  and  management  of  the  credit 

register  and  the  information  exchange  system  by  Banka  Slovenije  (Section  3.1);  and  (2)  the  new 

tasks  conferred  on  Banka  Slovenije  in  relation  to  the  prohibition  of  monetary  financing  under 

Article 123 of the Treaty (Section 3.2). 

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3. 

Observations 

3.1  Operation and management of the credit register and the information exchange system by Banka 

Slovenije 

3.1.1  The ECB welcomes the draft law. The explanatory memorandum states that the draft law aims to 

renew the existing national reporting framework in order to fulfil new reporting requirements in the 

context  of  the  AnaCredit  project.  As  specified  in  Recital  12  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/867 

(ECB/2016/13),  the  first  stage  of  reporting  under  AnaCredit  includes  credit  granted  by  credit 

institutions to legal entities. In subsequent stages the scope of reporting may be extended to collect 

data  on  instruments  granted  by  financial  intermediaries  other  than  credit  institutions,  and  on 

instruments granted to natural persons. In this context, the ECB also welcomes that the scope of 

the  draft  law  is  broader  than  the  current  scope  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/867  (ECB/2016/13)  as  it 

already covers information which may be covered in subsequent amendments to Regulation (EU) 

2016/867  (ECB/2016/13),  such  as  collection  of  credit  and  credit  risk  data  in  respect  of  natural 

persons. In addition, the ECB notes that the draft law not only enables the collection of such data in 

respect of natural persons, but also ensures the protection of their rights.  

3.1.2  As  noted  in  paragraph  1.5,  Banka  Slovenije  shall  through  secondary  implementing  legislation 

prescribe the scope and content of data of business entities. For this purpose, the ECB suggests 

that  the  Banka  Slovenije  ensures  at  each  point  in  time  that  the  data  model  defined  in  such 

implementing legislation corresponds to the data model valid at that point in time under Regulation 

(EU)  2016/867  (ECB/2016/13)  in  order  for  reporting  requirements  and  implementation  practices 
across  the  Eurosystem  to  remain  sufficiently  harmonised 8.  Nevertheless,  the  ECB  notes  that 

further  developments  of  the  AnaCredit  project,  for  instance  by  means  of  requiring  additional  data 

attributes to be collected, may lead to the need to amend the draft law in the future should Banka 

Slovenije’s power to adopt secondary implementing legislation prove insufficient for the purpose of 

incorporating such further developments. 

3.1.3  The  ECB  understands  that  the  draft  law  allows  Banka  Slovenije  to  link  the  part  of  the  credit 

register’s  database  that  relates  to  the  data  of  business  entities  to  databases  established  and 

managed  by  the  ECB  for  the  purposes  of  carrying  out  the  ECB’s  tasks,  including  for  monetary 

policy, 

financial  stability,  macro-prudential  supervisory,  micro-prudential  supervisory, 

risk 

management  and  statistical  purposes.  The  ECB  welcomes  these  provisions  of  the  draft  law,  and 

notes that not only the financial markets in general, but also the Eurosystem, which uses credit risk 

assessment  in  its  collateral  framework  for  monetary  policy  operations,  may  benefit  from  a  more 
informed  evaluation  of  credit  risk 9.  For  reasons  of  legal  certainty  and  to  promote  the  efficient 

supervision  of  significant  credit  institutions  the  ECB  suggests  that  the  draft  law  could  usefully 

reinforce these provisions by including, for the avoidance of doubt, an explicit clarification that the 

8 

9  

See paragraph 2.3 of Opinion CON/2015/20 and paragraphs 2.4 and 2.5 of Opinion CON/2013/93. All ECB opinions 
are published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

See paragraph 2.1 of Opinion CON/2014/57. 

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information  in  the  credit  register  may  be  accessed  by  the  ECB  in  order  for  it  to  carry  out  its 
supervisory tasks under Regulation (EU) 1024/2013 10.  

3.1.4  The  ECB  welcomes  that  the  draft  law  enables  Banka  Slovenije,  as  the  sole  operator  of  the 

information  exchange  system,  to  make  special  agreements  on  linking  the  information  exchange 

system  with  comparable  databases  established  in  Member  States.  The  ECB  also  welcomes  that 

Banka Slovenije can also conclude agreements with operators of information exchange systems for 

assessing the creditworthiness of customers in third countries, if reciprocity is guaranteed. 

3.1.5  The  ECB  welcomes  that  the  system  of  electronic  exchange  will  enable  its  members  to  develop 

more  informed  assessments  of  credit  risk  and  enhance  their  risk  management  capabilities. 

The ECB understands that the confidentiality and protection of the data is fully guaranteed by the 

relevant provisions of the draft law. 

3.2  Conferral of new tasks on Banka Slovenije 

3.2.1  The  draft  law  broadens  Banka  Slovenije’s  current  responsibilities  relating  to  the  collection  of 

statistical data by assigning to Banka Slovenije new tasks in connection with the establishment and 

operation  of  a  credit  register  as  a  centralised  collection  of  granular  credit  and  credit  risk  data.  In 

addition, the draft law also establishes an information exchange system which enables its members 

to  access  granular  credit  and  credit  risk  data  on  business  entities.  It  also  confers  on  Banka 

Slovenije supervisory tasks in relation to the reporting of  the data and  information included  in the 

credit register.  

While  it  is  acknowledged  that  the  attribution  of  these  new  tasks  is  mainly  driven  by  the  aim  to 

ensure compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/867 (ECB/2016/13), these new tasks are indeed part 

of a thorough revamping of the national framework for the reporting of risks whose management is 

entrusted to Banka Slovenije, which triggers the need to perform the assessment outlined below.  

3.2.2  The  ECB  wishes  to  reiterate  that  when  new  tasks  are  conferred  on  a  member  of  the  European 

System of Central Banks (ESCB), it is necessary to assess such conferral against the prohibition of 

monetary financing under Article 123 of the Treaty.  

For  this  purpose,  the  ECB  has  developed  guidance,  in  the  form  of  general  and  specific 

considerations as set out in paragraphs 3.2.3 and 3.2.4, on the basis of which the ECB may decide 

whether  the  new  task  conferred  on  an  ESCB  national  central  bank  (NCB)  is  to  be  considered  a 

central  banking  task  or  a  governmental  task  for  the  purposes  of  the  monetary  financing 
prohibition11.  The  concrete  assessment  of  whether  Banka  Slovenije’s  tasks  as  the  authority 

responsible  for  establishment  and  operation  of  the  credit  register  are  to  be  considered  central 

banking tasks or governmental tasks is undertaken in paragraph 3.2.5 of this opinion. 

3.2.3  First,  the  systematic  categorisation  of  tasks  assigned  to  NCBs  as  central  banking  or  government 

tasks applies to genuinely new tasks that did not exist in the past or did not form an integral part of 

the  central  banking  tasks already  assigned  to  the  NCB  in  the  past.  In  recognition  of  the  Member 

States’  legal  frameworks,  central  banking  traditions  and  national  set-ups,  the  tasks  currently 

10    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). 

11  

See Opinion CON/2016/38.  

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discharged by an NCB as central banking tasks are not reviewed and re-categorised, but may be 

reassessed if their substance is amended.  

Second, the principle of financial independence requires that the Member States may not put their 

NCBs  in  a  position  where  they  have  insufficient  financial  resources  to  carry  out  their  ESCB-  or 

Eurosystem-related tasks.  

Third, central banking tasks comprise in particular those tasks that are related to the tasks listed in 

Article 127(2), (5) and (6) of the Treaty. 

Fourth,  new  tasks  conferred  on  an  NCB  that  are  atypical  of  NCBs’  tasks,  or  which  are  clearly 

discharged on behalf of and in the exclusive interest of the government or of other public entities, 

should be considered as governmental tasks.  

3.2.4  An important criterion for qualifying a new task as a government tasks is the impact of the task on 

an NCB’s institutional, financial and personal  independence. In particular, the following should be 

taken into account. 

First,  it  should  be  assessed  whether  the  performance  of  the  new  task  will  create  inadequately 

addressed  conflicts  of 

interests  with  existing  central  banking 

tasks,  without  necessarily 

complementing  the  existing  central  banking  tasks.  If  a  conflict  of  interest  arises  between  existing 

and new tasks, there should be sufficient mitigation measures in place to adequately address that 

conflict.  Complementarity  between  the  new  task  and  existing  central  banking  tasks  should  not, 

however, be interpreted broadly, as this could lead to the creation of an indefinite chain of ancillary 

tasks.  The  assessment  of  the  complementarity  of  a  new  task  should  also  take  into  account  the 

financing of that task. 

Second,  it  should  be  assessed  whether,  without  new  financial  resources,  the  performance  of  the 

new task places a disproportionate burden  on the financial or  organisational capacity of the NCB 

concerned,  and  may  negatively  impact  its  capacity  to  properly  perform  existing  central  banking 

tasks. 

Third,  it  should  be  assessed  whether  the  performance  of  the  new  task  is  aligned  with  the 

institutional  set-up  of  the  NCB,  in  particular  as  regards  central  bank  independence  and 

accountability considerations. 

Fourth, it should be assessed whether the performance of the new task entails substantial financial 

risks. 

Fifth, it should be assessed whether the performance of the new task expose the members of the 

NCB’s decision-making bodies to political risks which are disproportionate and may also impact on 

their  personal  independence  and,  in  particular,  the  guarantee  of  the  term  of  office  under 

Article 14.2 of the Statute of the ESCB. 

Any  final  assessment  on  the  qualification  of  a  task  given  to  an  NCB  as  either  falling  within  the 

scope of central banking tasks or government tasks should be guided by the objective of ensuring 

that  the  prohibition  of  monetary  financing  within  the  Eurosystem  and  the  ESCB  is  consistently 

applied, to the extent that it applies to its members. 

3.2.5  In the light of the above guidance the following paragraphs assess whether Banka Slovenije’s new 

tasks are in line with the monetary financing prohibition. 

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3.2.5.1  Principle of financial independence 

The  principle  of  financial  independence  requires  NCBs  to  have  sufficient  means  to  carry  out  not 
only their ESCB-related tasks but also their national tasks12. In this respect, it is noted that Banka 

Slovenije  shall  prescribe  a  fee  in  the  implementing  legislation  to  members  of  the  information 

exchange system for membership and access to the data. It shall also prescribe a fee to business 

entities regarding their right to be informed.  

3.2.5.2  Links to tasks listed in Article 127(2) and (5) of the Treaty 

With  regard  to  the  credit  register,  it  is  noted  that  granular  credit  data  based  on  central  credit 

registers are necessary for the development and production of new ESCB statistics, as well as for 

increasing  the  quality  of  ESCB  statistics.  These  new  or  improved  statistics  to  be  produced  in  the 

long  term  are  necessary  for  the  performance  of  Eurosystem  tasks  including  monetary  policy 

analysis  and  monetary  policy  operations,  risk  management,  financial  stability  surveillance  and 

research,  as  well  as  the  Eurosystem’s  contribution  to  the  smooth  conduct  of  policies  pursued  by 

the competent authorities relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions and the stability 
of  the  financial  system 13.  These  data  will  also  be  useful  for  banking  supervision  purposes  in  the 
context of the  Single  Supervisory  Mechanism14. In addition, as regards  the information  exchange 

system,  it  is  noted  that  NCBs  should  be  able  to  use  the  multi-purpose  shared  analytical  granular 

credit  data  set  to  establish  feedback  loops  with  reporting  agents  or  to  enrich  existing  feedback 

loops  and  other  information  services  from  central  credit  registers  to  reporting  agents.  These 

feedback loops will enhance the ESCB’s contribution to the stability of the financial system in line 
with its statutory mandate according to Article 127(5) of the Treaty15.  

The set-up and management of the credit register, including the information exchange system, are 

thus  considered  as  tasks  related  to  those  referred  to  in  the  first  indent  of  Article  127(2)  and 

Article 127(5) of the Treaty. The new tasks are also complementary to  Banka Slovenije’s existing 

macro- and micro-prudential supervisory tasks.  

3.2.5.3  Atypical tasks 

Central  banks  have  always  had  a  strong  interest  in  ensuring  higher  statistical  data  quality  for 

analytical  purposes.  A  number  of  Member  States  have  established  central  credit  registers  and 
conferred  the  tasks  involved  in  operating  them  upon  NCBs 16.  Moreover,  in  the  long  run  all 

Eurosystem  NCBs  are  required  to  operate  national  granular  credit  datasets  under  Decision 
ECB/2014/6 and Regulation (EU) 2016/867 (ECB/2016/13) 17. The ECB’s powers in relation to the 

collection of statistical information are set out in Article 5 of the Statute of the ESCB, and Article 4 

of Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 requires all Member States to organise themselves in the 

field of statistics and fully cooperate with the ESCB in order to ensure the fulfilment of obligations 

12  
13  

14  
15  
16 
17  

See the ECB’s 2016 Convergence Report, p. 25. 

See  recital  3  of  Decision  ECB/2014/6  of  24  February  2014  on  the  organisation  of  preparatory  measures  for  the 
collection of granular credit data by the European System of Central Banks (OJ L 104, 8.4.2014, p. 72).  

See recital 1 of Regulation (EU) 2016/867 (ECB/2016/13). 
See recital 18 of Regulation (EU) 2016/867 (ECB/2016/13). 
See, for example, Opinions CON/2015/20, CON/2014/57 and CON/2013/93. 

Regulation (EU) 2016/867 (ECB/2016/13) shall apply from 31 December 2017. 

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arising out of Article 5 of the Statute  of the ESCB. The extension of Banka Slovenije’s powers in 

the field of statistics is therefore not regarded as atypical of a central bank. 

3.2.5.4  Discharge of tasks on behalf of and in the exclusive interest of the Government or of other public 

entities 

Banka  Slovenije  is  designated  by  the  draft  law  as  the  sole  operator  of  the  credit  register.  Banka 

Slovenije  shall  exchange  information  with  the  members  of  the  information  exchange  system  in 

order  to  better  manage  credit  risks.  There  is  no  indication  that,  in  carrying  out  its  tasks,  Banka 

Slovenije would act exclusively in the interest of another public entity.  

3.2.5.5  Extent  to  which  the  performance  of  tasks  is  aligned  with  Banka  Slovenije’s  institutional  set-up,  in 

particular as regards accountability considerations 

Given  the  complementarity  with  Banka  Slovenije’s  existing  tasks,  the  new  tasks appear  to  fit  into 

Banka Slovenije’s current institutional set-up. In this respect, it is noted that the draft law stipulates 

that  it  does  not  interfere  with  the  competence  of  Banka  Slovenije  regarding  the  collection  and 

processing of data for supervisory purposes in accordance with the Law on banking.  

3.2.5.6  Extent  to  which  the  performance  of  tasks  is  proportionate  to  Banka  Slovenije’s  financial  and 

operational capacity and its ability to perform its ESCB-related tasks 

The ECB understands that Banka Slovenije has already taken the necessary measures to ensure 

that sufficient resources  are available for the  performance  of the extended collection of statistical 

data.  In  addition,  it  is  noted  that  certain  costs  related  to  Banka  Slovenije’s  new  tasks  will  be 

covered  by  the  fees  levied  on  the  members  of  the  information  exchange  system  and  business 

entities pursuant to the implementing legislation. 

3.2.5.7  Extent to which the performance of tasks entails substantial financial risks 

The  draft  law  does  not  contain  any  specific  provisions  on  liability  for  the  operation  of  the  credit 

register. Banka Slovenije’s potential liability for the performance of the new tasks given to it under 

the draft law will be thus subject to the rules on liability for damage caused in the exercise of public 
authority18. 

3.2.5.8  Conclusion 

The  ECB  considers  that  Banka  Slovenije’s  new  tasks  relating  to  the  credit  register  and  the 

information exchange system  qualify  as central banking tasks for the purposes of assessing their 

compliance  with  the  monetary  financing  prohibition,  in  the  sense  that  they  expand  Banka 

Slovenije’s statistical tasks and are linked to and complement Banka Slovenije’s existing monetary  

18  

Article 26 of the Slovenian Constitution in conjunction with the Code of Obligations (Obligacijski zakonik) (OZ) (Ur. l. 
RS No 97/07 – official consolidated text). 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
policy, micro- and macro-prudential supervisory as well as financial stability tasks. 

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

ECB-PUBLIC 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 31 August 2016. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

9