Opinion of the European Central Bank of 2 August 2017 on access to the central credit register and the register of bank accounts (CON/2017/28)
Date: 2017-08-02
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Bulgaria, access to information, central bank, credit institution, information system, intra-EU payment, national law, payment system, securities

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 2 August 2017 

on access to the central credit register and the register of bank accounts 

(CON/2017/28) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  3  July  2017  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  Българска  народна  банка 

(Bulgarian National Bank) (BNB), following correspondence exchanged between BNB and the Minister of 

Finance, for an opinion on a draft law on payment services and payment systems (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 indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC1, as 

the  draft  law  relates  to  BNB.  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  main  purpose  of  the  draft  law  is  to  implement  Directive  (EU)  2015/2366  of  the  European 

Parliament and of the Council2 in national law. 

1.2.  The  draft law also  amends  the Law  on  Българска  народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank)3 by 

repealing  the  provision  pursuant  to  which  BNB  may  open  cash  accounts  for  primary  dealers  in 

government  securities,  sub-depositories  of  government  securities  and  other  entities  for  the 

purposes  of cash settlement  on  government securities transactions by investment  intermediaries. 

The  explanatory  memorandum  states  that  the  practice  of  keeping  such  cash  accounts  has  been 

discontinued  by  BNB  and  that  non-bank  participants  in  the  settlement  system  for  government 

securities  can  instead  ensure  cash  settlement  through  commercial  banks  that  participate  in  the 

Real-time  Interbank  Gross  Settlement  System,  which  is  the  national  real-time  gross  settlement 

system,  and  in  the  second  generation  of  the  Trans-European  Automated  Real-time  Gross 

settlement Express Transfer system (TARGET 2). 

1.3.  The draft law also empowers BNB to adopt an ordinance defining the procedure under which the 

government  and  municipal  authorities,  as  well  as  legal  entities  and  natural  persons,  provide 

1  

2  

3 

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). 

Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services 
in  the  internal  market,  amending  Directives  2002/65/EC,  2009/110/EC  and  2013/36/EU  and  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35). 

Published in Darjaven Vestnik No 46, 10 June 1997. 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
ECB-PUBLIC 

information  to  BNB  in  relation  to  the  compilation  of  balance  of  payments,  monetary  and  interest 

rate statistics and financial account statistics. 

1.4.  The draft law also amends the Law on credit institutions4 with regard to access to the central credit 

register  and  the  register  of  bank  accounts  operated  by  BNB.  In  particular,  the  draft  law  seeks  to 

achieve a unified approach to the provision of access to information contained in the two registers. 

Only certain State bodies shall have access to the central credit register in order to fulfil their legal 

tasks. In all other cases access to information in the system shall only be provided pursuant to a 

court ruling for the disclosure of information that is protected by bank secrecy requirements, or with 

the consent of the account holder. 

2. 

General observations 

The ECB welcomes the draft law, to the extent that it enhances legal certainty and provides clarity 

regarding the exercise of several of the existing tasks of BNB. 

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 2 August 2017. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

4  

Published in Darjaven Vestnik No 59, 21 July 2006. 

2