(1)

Pursuant to Article 17 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter the ‘Statute of the ESCB’), in order to conduct its operations, the European Central Bank (ECB) may open accounts for credit institutions, public entities and other market participants.

(2)

Pursuant to Article 21.1 and 21.2 of the Statute of the ESCB, the ECB may act as fiscal agent for Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, central governments, regional, local or other public authorities, other bodies governed by public law, or public undertakings of Member States.

(3)

Pursuant to Article 1(2) of Decision ECB/2007/7 of 24 July 2007 concerning the terms and conditions of TARGET2-ECB (1), the ECB may accept central banks as customers.

(4)

Reference is made to the EFSF Framework Agreement between the Member States whose currency is the euro and European Financial Stability Facility, Société Anonyme (EFSF), a public limited liability company incorporated in Luxembourg, with the Member States whose currency is the euro as its shareholders. The EFSF Framework Agreement entered into force and became binding on 4 August 2010.

(5)

Pursuant to the EFSF Framework Agreement and in accordance with EFSF’s by-laws, EFSF is to provide financing in the form of loan facility agreements (hereinafter the ‘Loan Facility Agreements’) to Member States whose currency is the euro where such Member States are in financial difficulties and have entered into a memorandum of understanding with the European Commission containing policy conditionality.

(6)

Article 3(5) of the EFSF Framework Agreement provides that the disbursement of the loan made available by EFSF to a Member State whose currency is the euro will be made through the accounts of EFSF and the relevant borrower Member State which have been opened with the ECB for the purpose of the Loan Facility Agreements. Decision ECB/2010/15 of 21 September 2010 concerning the administration of EFSF loans to Member States whose currency is the euro (2) lays down provisions concerning the opening of a cash account in the name of EFSF with the ECB for the operation of the Loan Facility Agreements.

(7)

The repayment under the Loan Facility Agreements will be made through cash accounts opened with the ECB in the name of the national central bank (NCB) of the relevant borrower Member State.

(8)

It is necessary to lay down provisions concerning the cash accounts that are to be opened with the ECB in the name of the NCB of the relevant borrower Member State for the operation of the Loan Facility Agreements,