(1)

A number of amendments are to be made to Guideline (EU) 2021/564 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2021/9) (1). In the interests of clarity, that Guideline should be recast.

(2)

In line with the role of the euro as an international reserve currency, the Eurosystem has developed a framework for the provision of reserve management services in euro to central banks, monetary authorities and countries located outside the euro area and to international organisations. The Eurosystem reserve management services (ERMS) are at the core of this framework and comprise a well-defined set of standardised reserve management services that allow customers to comprehensively manage their euro-denominated reserve assets through a single Eurosystem central bank.

(3)

Pursuant to Article 23 in conjunction with Article 42.4 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter the ‘Statute of the ESCB’), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks of the Member States whose currency is the euro may establish relations with central banks and financial institutions in other countries and, where appropriate, with international organisations, and conduct all types of banking transactions in their relations with third countries and international organisations.

(4)

When providing Eurosystem reserve management services to customers, irrespective of the Eurosystem central bank through which such services are provided, the Eurosystem should act as a single system. To this end, this Guideline aims to ensure, inter alia, that Eurosystem reserve management services are provided on a standardised basis under harmonised terms and conditions and that the ECB, the ERMS providers or the Eurosystem, as appropriate, receive adequate information regarding these services.

(5)

All information, data and documents including those received from customers, drafted by and/or exchanged between Eurosystem central banks in the context of Eurosystem reserve management services are of a confidential nature and are subject to Article 37 of the Statute of the ESCB. The sharing of any information that contains personal data must be carried out in compliance with the applicable Union law governing data protection.

(6)

In accordance with Article 1, point (c), of Guideline (EU) 2019/671 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2019/7) (2), the provisions of that Guideline do not apply to transactions executed and deposits taken within the framework of the Eurosystem reserve management services. For the avoidance of doubt and in the interests of legal certainty this should be specified in this Guideline.

(7)

The Governing Council has decided that greater transparency of the remuneration of non-monetary policy deposits is necessary. The remuneration rates applicable to these deposits are set out in several different legal acts. In order to improve transparency, as well as consistency across related legal acts, it is appropriate for remuneration rates to be set out in a comprehensive manner in a single legal act to facilitate communication of the remuneration rates and to allow for future adjustments of those rates. Consequently, the remuneration rules relating to deposits taken within the framework of the Eurosystem reserve management services include references to the relevant provisions of Decision (EU) 2024/1209 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2024/11) (3), which is the single legal act that sets out the remuneration applicable to non-monetary policy deposits.

(8)

In order to ensure legal certainty, it is necessary to align the date of application of this Guideline with the date of application of Decision (EU) 2024/1209 (ECB/2024/11). This Guideline should therefore apply from 1 December 2024,

(1)

‘international organisation’ means any organisation, other than a Union institution or body, established by or under the authority of an international treaty;

(2)

‘Eurosystem reserve management services’ or ‘ERMS’ means the reserve management services listed in Article 3 that may be provided by ERMS providers to customers allowing customers to comprehensively manage their reserves through one or more ERMS providers;

(3)

‘customer’ means any central bank (including any monetary authority) or any country (including any public authority or government agency) located outside the euro area, or any international organisation to which Eurosystem reserve management services are provided by one or more Eurosystem central banks;

(4)

‘Eurosystem central bank’ means the ECB or any national central bank of a Member State whose currency is the euro;

(5)

‘ERMS provider’ means a Eurosystem central bank which provides all or a subset of the Eurosystem reserve management services irrespective of whether the relevant Eurosystem central bank concluded a contract with the customer;

(6)

‘Tier 1 investment facility’ means a limited facility for investment directly with the ERMS provider;

(7)

‘Tier 2 investment facility’ means a facility for investment on an agency basis in the market with counterparties selected by the ERMS provider;

(8)

‘agency basis’ means that the ERMS provider acts as agent for a customer in either of the following ways: (a) on a disclosed basis, where the ERMS provider acts in the name and on behalf of its customer vis-à-vis its counterparty, i.e. it discloses the identity of its customer and the fact that it acts as an agent for that customer; or (b) on an undisclosed basis, where the ERMS provider acts on behalf of but not in the name of its customer vis-à-vis its counterparty, i.e. it discloses the fact that it acts as an agent on behalf of one of its customers but does not disclose the identity of that customer;

(9)

‘excess cash balance’ means a balance that cannot be accommodated under either the Tier 1 investment facility or the Tier 2 investment facility on any given day;

(10)

‘principal basis’ means that the ERMS provider acts in its own name and on its own behalf with regard to its customers and counterparties;

(11)

‘reserves’ means euro-denominated cash and those euro-denominated securities that are included in the Eurosystem list of eligible marketable assets, as published and updated daily on the ECB’s website in accordance with Article 61 of Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/60) (4), with the exception of:

(1)

the following cash account services:

(2)

the following custodian services:

(3)

the following settlement services:

(4)

the following cash overnight investment services:

(5)

the following fixed-term deposit services:

(6)

execution of investments for customers in accordance with their standing instructions, or an investment mandate, and in accordance with the set of Eurosystem reserve management services, subject to the following:

(7)

execution of customers’ orders for securities purchases or sales in the secondary market, which shall cover securities from the entire range of eligible securities for which securities accounts are provided as set out in point (2)(a), subject to the following:

(8)

the following foreign exchange transaction services in respect of euro against other currencies and gold as well as reverse repurchase agreements (reverse repos) in euro:

Eurosystem foreign exchange transaction services offered by ERMS providers on a principal basis shall be executed in their own names and may be subject to the guidelines adopted by the ECB on the basis of Article 31 of the Statute of the ESCB that set out the thresholds at or below which various types of foreign exchange operations on any given day may be conducted by national central banks without the ECB’s approval, and above which various types of foreign exchange operations on any given day may not be conducted by national central banks without the ECB’s prior approval. Insofar as the transactions executed pursuant to this Guideline are subject to the guidelines adopted by the ECB on the basis of Article 31 of the Statute of the ESCB, the latter guidelines shall also apply.

(1)

to recover internal costs for the custodian and settlement services provided to customers for the range of eligible securities set out in Article 3, points (2) and (3), the following fees, as determined by the Governing Council:

(2)

for the execution of securities orders, internal costs shall be covered by applying a margin to be determined by the ERMS provider concerned on a transaction basis. Any external fees, for example fees charged by CSDs, ICSDs and correspondent central banks in the context of bilateral arrangements shall be passed on in full to customers. These fees may vary and are not harmonised at Eurosystem level;

(3)

the fees charged to customers for investments in accordance with standing instructions or an investment mandate shall be those applied for the underlying securities-related operation or cash service. No separate or additional fees shall be applied for the execution of standing instructions as such. The fee for an investment mandate shall be determined by the relevant ERMS provider;

(4)

for costs incurred in providing foreign exchange transaction services on a principal basis the relevant ERMS provider shall apply a margin between the purchasing or selling price of the foreign exchange, as determined by the respective ERMS provider, and the prevailing market rate on an individual transaction basis;

(5)

customers shall ensure that their cash accounts balances are greater than or equal to zero no later than close of business on every business day.