Opinion of the European Central Bank of 26 January 2018 on organising the central register of bank accounts and financial transactions (CON/2018/4)
Date: 2018-01-26
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Belgium, account, banking, database, financial transaction, national law

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 26 January 2018 

on organising the central register of bank accounts and financial transactions  

(CON/2018/4) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 22 December 2017 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Belgian Ministry of 

Finance  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft  law  organising  the  central  register  of  bank  accounts  and  financial 

transactions (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/EC 1, as 

the  draft  law  contains  provisions  concerning  the  Nationale  Bank  van  België/Banque  Nationale  de 

Belgique  (NBB).  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 serve as the stand-alone legal framework for the operation 

and maintenance by the NBB of the central register of bank accounts and financial transactions.  

1.2  The  register  was  initially  established  and  operated  by  the  NBB  in  accordance  with  the  Law  of 

14 April 2011 which was implemented by Royal Decree on 17 July 2013. It was then designed as a 

component part of the Income Tax Code and served as a database available exclusively to the tax 

authorities  for  controlling  and  recovery  purposes.  Access  to  the  database  was  subsequently 

expanded  in  2016,  in  particular,  to  support  efforts  to  combat  money  laundering,  the  financing  of 

terrorism and financial crime in general.  

1.3  Under  the  draft  law,  the  existing  central  register  of  bank  accounts  and  financial  transactions  will 

become  a  multi-purpose  database  that  will,  in  particular,  serve  as  the  centralised  automated 

mechanism,  contemplated  for  all  Member  States  under  the  Proposal  for  a  Directive  of  the 

European Parliament and of the Council and amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 of 20 May 2015 on 

the  prevention of the use  of the financial system for the  purpose of money  laundering or terrorist 

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).  

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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financing2, as a means of facilitating the timely identification of any natural or legal person holding 

or  controlling  payment  or  bank  accounts  held  in  Belgium.  To  this  end,  the  provisions  on  the 

operation and maintenance of the central register of bank accounts and financial transactions have 

been extracted from the Income Tax Code and placed in a stand-alone piece of legislation.  

1.4  The list of reporting agents under the draft law will include stock exchange brokers, payment and 

electronic  payment  institutions,  foreign  exchange  agents,  lenders,  leasing  companies  and 

insurance  undertakings,  as  well  as  credit  institutions.  These  entities  will  be  required  to  provide 

additional  information  relating  to  the  designation  of  proxyholders,  the  renting  of  safes  by  credit 

institutions,  the  execution  of  certain  types  of  insurance  contracts,  foreign  money  transfers  in 

exchange  for  a  withdrawal  or  remittance  of  cash  and  exchange  transactions  involving  cash  or 

precious  metals  in  exchange  for  a  withdrawal  or  remittance  of  cash.  The  Administration  of  the 

Treasury for Belgium will be tasked with monitoring the compliance of the reporting entities with the 

new  obligations  under  the  draft  law  and  imposing  fines.  Communication  between  the  central 

register,  the  reporting  entities  and  the  persons  requesting  information  will  exclusively  take  place 

electronically.   

1.5  The draft law provides that legal or private persons may be either directly authorised to access the 

register  or,  where  necessary,  by  way  of  a  centralising  institution  tasked  with  managing  the 

information  requests,  designated  by  the  King.  The  persons  authorised  to  access  the  register  and 

the  centralising  institutions  should  establish  and  implement  policies  and  procedures  to  ensure 

compliance with the relevant requirements by those requesting and receiving information from the 

central register, in particular, with respect to ensuring that the request is in line with the purpose for 

which  access  was  granted  and  maintaining  data  confidentiality.  Persons  authorised  to  receive 

information  from  the  register  and  all  centralising  institutions  must  also  enter  into  a  framework 

agreement  with  the  NBB  with  respect  to  the  technical  conditions  and  practical  arrangements 

governing access to the register. 

1.6  Under the draft law, the persons authorised to receive information or the centralising institution will 

reimburse  the  NBB  for  all  the  costs  incurred  as  a  result  of  the  establishment,  functioning  and 

maintenance  of  the  register.  The  costs  incurred  by  the  NBB  will  be  shared  between  the  persons 

authorised  to  receive  information  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  their  respective  requests  for 

information from the register and, where appropriate, to any other relevant factor determined by the 

King. The King will determine the arrangements for implementing these provisions, including (1) the 

method  for  calculating  the  interim  payment  to  be  paid  by  the  persons  authorised  to  receive 

information or, where appropriate, by the centralising institution in order to cover the NBB’s costs in 

advance, and the method for calculating the definitive amount of the share of the NBB’s costs for 

each person authorised to receive information or the centralising institution and; (2) the frequency 

of  the  invoices  sent  by  the  NBB  as  well  as  the  payment  period,  which  may  not  exceed  ninety 

calendar days.  

2  

COM/2016/0450 final - 2016/0208 (COD). 

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1.7  The draft law excludes any civil liability of the NBB and the members of its decision-making bodies 

or staff as a result of any  mistake or negligence arising in the performance of its tasks under the 

draft  law,  except  in  cases  of  fraud,  willful  misconduct  or  gross  negligence.  The  NBB  is  also 

authorised  to  use  the  information  in  the  register  for  scientific  or  statistical  purposes,  or  in  the 

context  of  performing  its  public  interest  missions  and  tasks  in  accordance  with  the  Act  of 
22 February 1998 on the Organic Status of the National Bank of Belgium 3. 

2. 

General observations 

2.1  The ECB has issued a number of opinions on the Law of 14 April 2011 on the central register of 

bank  accounts  and  the  Royal  Decree  of  17  July  2013  on  the  functioning  of  the  central  point  of 

contact establishing and expanding access to the central register for banks accounts and financial 
transactions 4.  

2.2  The ECB welcomes the enactment of a stand-alone piece of legislation specifically dedicated to the 

central register for bank accounts and financial accounts with comprehensive and detailed rules on 

its establishment, functioning and financing.  

2.3  The ECB particularly welcomes the introduction of a cost recovery mechanism designed to ensure 

the full recovery of the costs incurred by the NBB in the establishment, maintenance and operation 

of  the  register,  through  the  combination  of  an  ex  ante  interim  payment  made  by  the  persons 

authorised  to  receive  information  from  the  register  and  the  centralising  institution  to  the  NBB  to 

cover the expected costs of the register for a period of one year and the ex post quarterly invoicing 

by the NBB of the actual costs incurred by the NBB in respect of these persons. This cost recovery 

mechanism  safeguards  the  financial  independence  of  the  NBB  under  the  Treaty  and  dispels 

concerns relating to the prohibition of monetary financing under the Treaty that are associated with 
the NBB carrying out government tasks5. The ECB requests to be consulted under Article 127(4) of 

the  Treaty  on  the  implementing  regulation  relating  to  this  cost  recovery  mechanism  as  it  is  an 

important element for assessing that the prohibition of monetary financing is properly addressed.  

2.4  The  various  mechanisms  aimed  at  alleviating  the  operational  burden  of  the  NBB  –  including  the 

access  to  the  register  that  exclusively  takes  place  in  electronic  form;  the  monitoring  by  the 

Administration  of  the  Treasury  of  the  compliance  by  reporting  entities  with  their  obligations;  the 

involvement  of  the  centralising  institutions  and  the  limited  liability  of  the  NBB  and  its  decision-

making  bodies  and  staff  in  the  establishment  and  operation  of  the  central  register  –  are  also  a 

welcome  development.  These  mechanisms  reduce  the  scope  for  operational  and  political  risks,  

3  
4  

5  

« Loi du 22 février 1998 fixant le statut organique de la Banque Nationale de Belgique ».  
See  ECB  Opinions  CON/2011/30,  CON/2011/98  and  CON/2016/35.  All  ECB  opinions  are  published  on  the  ECB’s 
website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
See paragraphs 3.2 and 3.8 of ECB Opinion CON/2016/35.  

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thereby enhancing the independence of the NBB.  

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 26 January 2018. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI  

ECB-PUBLIC 

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