Opinion of the European Central Bank of 19 March 2024 on the increase of Austria’s quota in the International Monetary Fund (CON/2024/9)
Date: 2024-03-19
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: institutional activity, legal basis

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 19 March 2024  

on the increase of Austria’s quota in the International Monetary Fund 

(CON/2024/9) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 20 February 2024 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Austrian Ministry of 

Finance for an opinion on a draft law on the increase of Austria’s quota in the International Monetary Fund 

(IMF) (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 the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB). 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  As noted in the explanatory memorandum to the draft law, the purpose of the draft law is to increase 

Austria’s quota in the IMF. On 15 December 2023, the IMF Board of Governors finalised the Sixteenth 

General Review of Quotas and agreed to a 50 % increase in quotas while maintaining the existing 

relative quota shares. The quotas are expected to increase by 238.6 billion Special Drawing Rights 

(SDR) to SDR 715.7 billion. The Board of Governors’ resolution also states that the IMF’s lending 

capacity  should  be  maintained  and  its  dependence  on  borrowed  funds  reduced.  This  is  to  be 

achieved by reducing the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) and phasing out bilateral borrowing 

agreements. The IMF member countries have until 15 November 2024 to agree to a corresponding 

increase in their quotas. This increase comes into force only when (1) IMF member countries that 

together hold no less than 85 % of the previous quota funds have agreed to the increase and (2) the 

participants under the NAB agree to a reduction in the NAB. 

1.2  The draft law incorporates the IMF quota increase into Austrian law. In particular, Austria’s quota will 

increase from SDR 3 932 million to SDR 5 898 million. The draft law entitles and obliges the OeNB 

to assume Austria’s additional quota in the IMF. The explanatory memorandum to the draft law notes 

that  the  authorisation  for  the  OeNB  to  assume  the  entire  Austrian  quota  also  applies  to  future 
increases in accordance with the Law of 23 June 1971 on the increase of Austria’s IMF quota and 

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). 

 
 
 
 
 
ECB-PUBLIC 

the  transfer  of  the  entire  quota  by  the  OeNB 2.  According  to  Article  2(1)  of  this  Law,  the  OeNB  is 

authorised to fulfil all financial commitments resulting from Austria’s membership of the IMF. 

2. 

General observation 

The issues raised in this opinion are likely to be relevant for other Member States legislating to facilitate an 

increase in their respective quotas in the IMF in response to the IMF’s Sixteenth General Review of Quotas. 

3. 

Monetary financing prohibition 

Article 123(1) of the Treaty prohibits the national central banks (NCBs) from granting overdraft facilities or 

any other type of credit facility to public authorities and bodies of the Member States. Article 1 of Council 

Regulation (EC) No 3603/933 defines ‘any other type of credit facility’, inter alia, as ‘any financing of the 

public sector’s obligations vis-à-vis third parties’. However, Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 3603/93 provides 

that the financing by NCBs of obligations falling upon the public sector vis-à-vis the IMF is not regarded as 

a credit facility within the meaning of Article 123(1) of the Treaty. The fourteenth recital of Regulation (EC) 

No  3603/93  sets  out  the  rationale  behind  this  exemption,  stating  that  it  is  appropriate  to  authorise  the 

financing by the NCBs of obligations falling upon the public sector vis-à-vis the IMF because such financing 

results in ‘claims which have all the characteristics of reserve assets’. Therefore, the exemption set out in 

Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 3603/93 should be interpreted in line with that rationale. As the payment by 

the  OeNB  of  the  proposed  increase  in  Austria’s  IMF  quota  would  result  in  claims  which  have  all  the 

characteristics of reserve assets, the draft law complies with the monetary financing prohibition 4. 

This opinion will be published on EUR-Lex. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 19 March 2024 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Christine LAGARDE 

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3  

4  

Bundesgesetz vom 23. Juni 1971 über die Erhöhung der Quote Österreichs beim Internationalen Währungsfonds und 
die Übernahme der gesamten Quote durch die Oesterreichische Nationalbank, BGBl 309/1971. 
Council Regulation (EC) No 3603/93 of 13 December 1993 specifying definitions for the application of the prohibitions 
referred to in Articles 104 and 104b (1) of the Treaty (OJ L 332, 31.12.1993, p. 1). 
See  Opinion  CON/2012/65,  which  concerns  the  last  increase  of  Austria’s  quota  in  the  IMF.  See  also  Opinions 
CON/2011/68, CON/2011/89, CON/2011/97, CON/2011/102 and CON/2012/45. All ECB Opinions are published on 
EUR-Lex. 

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