16.7.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 210/18

1.1.

On 19 May 2011, the Commission received a request from the European Central Bank (ECB) for an opinion on a draft ECB regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 25/2009 concerning the balance sheet of the monetary financial institution sector (recast) (ECB/2008/32) (hereinafter the ‘draft regulation’).

1.2.

The Commission welcomes this request and recognises, that the ECB hereby acts in accordance with its obligation to consult the Commission on draft ECB regulations whenever links with the statistical requirements of the Commission exist as laid down in Article 5(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 concerning the collection of statistical information by the ECB. As the requirement to consult aims to guarantee the coherence necessary to produce statistics meeting the respective information requirements of the ECB and of the Commission, the Commission recalls that a good cooperation between the ECB and the Commission can only be beneficial for those two same institutions as well as for users and respondents by allowing a more efficient production of European statistics.

2.1.

The Commission welcomes in particular the reference to Directive 2009/110/EC concerning electronic money institutions in the draft regulation.

2.2.

In Article 1(1)(a) the ECB operates with four subsectors of monetary financial institutions (MFIs), namely: ‘(a) central banks’, ‘(b) credit institutions’, ‘(c) other MFIs’, and ‘(d) money market funds (MMFs)’. In the opinion of the Commission this division into four subsectors is too detailed since, as a general rule and for the purpose of macroeconomic analysis — as in the European system of national and regional accounts (ESA 95) and as proposed in the European system of national and regional accounts in the European Union (ESA 2010) — only two main subsectors of MFIs are used, namely central banks and other MFIs. Therefore, the different meaning of ‘other MFIs’ in the draft regulation creates confusion. If this distinction in the four subsectors is considered essential by the ECB for special purposes, then another name should be found for the subsector ‘(c) other MFIs’ in the draft regulation.

2.3.

Also in Article 1(1)(a) the Commission suggests the following rewording: ‘(1) other financial institutions whose business is (i) to receive deposits and/or close substitutes for deposits from institutional units, hence not only from MFIs; and (ii) for their own account, at least in economic terms, to grant credits and/or make investments in securities;…’. This rewording is suggested in order to indicate that the deposits come mainly from other sources than other MFIs, but may also come from MFIs.

2.4.

In Article 1a(4) the Commission observes that (e), (f), (g) and (h) are pure definitions while (a), (b), (c) and (d) are explanations on how to interpret or use those definitions. The Commission suggests to separate those two categories and insert the definitions before the explanations.

2.5.

Furthermore it could be useful if Article 2, ‘Transitional provision’, would clarify if it also applies to the new definition of MFIs.

2.6.

Since the Commission is required to be consulted on the draft regulation, a citation to this effect should be inserted in the draft regulation.

3.1.

The Commission generally supports the draft regulation insofar as it contributes to the efficient cooperation between the European Statistical System (ESS) and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) in the definition of reporting agents and the promotion of high-quality, consistent statistics at European level. The Commission, however, is of the opinion that the draft regulation could be more specific on the issues raised above.

3.2.

Furthermore, the Commission would like to underline the importance of a robust process in practice of classification of units in this area, fully respecting statistical principles, and notably with regard to bodies established in the context of the financial crisis.

3.3.

The Commission will be welcoming any future consultations on relevant draft ECB regulations.