Regulation (EU) 2021/378 of the European Central Bank of 22 January 2021 on the application of minimum reserve requirements (recast) (ECB/2021/1)

Type Regulation
Publication 2021-03-03
Last updated 2023-09-20
State In force
Department European Central Bank
Source EUR-Lex
articles 16
Reform history JSON API

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Regulation establishes the minimum reserve requirements for the following institutions:

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

Article 3

Reserve holdings

1.

Institutions referred to in Article 1 shall hold minimum reserves, calculated in accordance with Article 6, as follows:

For the purposes of point (d), institutions shall notify the relevant NCB of any restrictions referred to therein without undue delay.

2.

Where an institution has several branches in the same euro area Member State, the following shall apply:

3.

The European Central Bank (ECB) shall publish the following lists of institutions on its website:

Article 4

Exemptions from minimum reserve requirements

1.

Institutions shall be exempt from the minimum reserve requirements in Article 3 where either of the following apply:

2.

The ECB may grant exemptions from the minimum reserve requirements in Article 3, upon request by the relevant NCB, where any of the following apply:

For the purposes of point (c) of the first subparagraph, where an institution’s access to the Eurosystem’s open market operations or standing facilities is restored by the Governing Council of the ECB pursuant to Article 158 of Guideline (EU) 2015/510 (ECB/2014/60), the exemption shall no longer apply from the start of the next maintenance period.

3.

For the purposes of granting exemptions in accordance with paragraph 2(d), the relevant NCBs and the ECB shall take all of the following into account:

For the purposes of point (a), an institution is authorised to pursue special-purpose functions only where it exercises specific public administration tasks or the institution is forbidden by law or statute to undertake the business of credit institutions.

4.

The exemptions referred to in this Article shall apply from the start of the maintenance period in which the relevant event occurs.

Article 5

Reserve base

1.

Institutions shall calculate their reserve base using the statistical information on the following liabilities reported pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2):

Where an institution holds liabilities owed to a branch of the same entity located outside the euro area, or to the head office or registered office of the same entity which is located outside the euro area, those liabilities shall be included in the reserve base.

2.

The following liabilities shall be excluded from the reserve base calculated pursuant to paragraph 1:

3.

Where liabilities are excluded from the reserve base in accordance with paragraph 2, the institution shall:

For the purposes of point (b), where an institution is unable to provide evidence to the relevant NCB of the amount of liabilities within the category of ‘debt securities issued’, that institution shall apply the standard deduction published on the ECB’s website to the outstanding amount of the debt securities which it has issued and which have an original maturity of up to and including two years.

4.

The ECB, when determining the standard deduction applied to liabilities within the debt securities category with a maturity of up to two years referred to in paragraph 3, shall take into account the euro area-wide macro ratio between the stock of relevant instruments issued by credit institutions and held by other credit institutions and by the ECB and relevant NCBs and the total amount outstanding of such instruments issued by credit institutions.

5.

Institutions shall calculate their reserve base with respect to a particular maintenance period on the basis of the data relating to the month two months prior to the month within which the maintenance period starts.

6.

Tail institutions, as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2), shall calculate their reserve base for two consecutive maintenance periods beginning with the maintenance period starting in the third month after the end of a quarter, on the basis of end-of-quarter data reported in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2). Those institutions shall notify the relevant NCB of their minimum reserves in accordance with Article 7.

Article 6

Calculation of minimum reserves

1.

Minimum reserves held by institutions pursuant to Article 3 shall be calculated using the following reserve ratios for each of the liabilities of the reserve base referred to in Article 5:

2.

NCBs or the institution shall deduct a lump sum allowance of EUR 100 000 from the calculation of minimum reserves of each institution, subject to the requirements of Articles 10 to 12.

3.

NCBs shall use the minimum reserves calculated in accordance with Article 6 for the following:

Article 7

Notification of minimum reserves

1.

NCBs shall establish the procedure for notifying institutions’ individual minimum reserves. That procedure shall include whether the relevant NCB or the institution calculates the minimum reserves in accordance with Article 6.

2.

Where the relevant NCB calculates an institution’s minimum reserves pursuant to paragraph 1, all of the following shall apply:

3.

Where an institution calculates its minimum reserves pursuant to paragraph 1, all of the following shall apply:

4.

For the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3, the relevant NCB may specify an earlier date for the notification of the minimum reserves.

5.

NCBs may specify the conditions and time limits within which institutions may revise the reserve base and the minimum reserves notified in accordance with this Article. No revisions shall be permitted after the acknowledgement of minimum reserves referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3.

6.

The relevant NCBs shall make available calendars indicating the time limits for the notification and acknowledgement of data relevant to the calculation of minimum reserves for the implementation of the procedures mentioned in this Article.

7.

Where an institution has failed to report the statistical information specified in Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2), the relevant NCB shall estimate the minimum reserves of that institution for the relevant maintenance period on the basis of historical information reported by the institution and any other relevant information, and shall notify the institution of its minimum reserves at least three NCB business days before the start of that maintenance period.

Article 8

Maintenance period

1.

A maintenance period shall begin on the settlement day of the main refinancing operation following the meeting of the Governing Council at which the assessment of the monetary policy stance is pre-scheduled and shall end the day before the start of the following maintenance period, unless otherwise specified by the Governing Council.

2.

The Executive Board of the ECB shall publish a calendar of maintenance periods on the website of the ECB. NCBs shall also publish that calendar on their respective websites. That calendar shall be published by the ECB and the NCBs at least three months before the start of each calendar year.

3.

The Governing Council may modify the calendar referred to in paragraph 2. That modified calendar shall be published on the websites of the ECB and of the NCBs before the maintenance period to which the modification relates.

Article 9

Remuneration

1.

The relevant NCB shall remunerate holdings of minimum reserves in the reserve accounts at 0 %.

2.

The relevant NCB shall pay the remuneration, if any, on the holdings of minimum reserves on the second TARGET business day following the end of the maintenance period over which the remuneration was earned.

3.

Funds included in holdings of minimum reserves that are subsequently excluded from those minimum reserves pursuant to Article 3(1)(d) shall be remunerated by the relevant NCB in accordance with the rules applicable to non-monetary policy deposits in Guideline (EU) 2019/671 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2019/7) ([^E0006]), with effect from the date the specific condition of Article 3(1)(d) applies, as determined by the relevant NCB.

Article 10

Indirect holding of minimum reserves through an intermediary

1.

An institution may apply to the relevant NCB for permission to hold all its minimum reserves indirectly through an intermediary institution where that intermediary institution:

2.

For the purposes of paragraph 1, where an institution applies for permission to hold all its minimum reserves indirectly through an intermediary institution, it shall conclude an agreement with that intermediary institution to that effect. That agreement shall specify at least the following:

Where an institution gives notice as referred to in point (b), it shall inform the relevant NCB thereof without undue delay.

3.

Where the parent of a group consolidates in its statistical reporting the business of subsidiaries which are resident in the same Member State in accordance with Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2), that parent may apply to the relevant NCB for permission to hold the minimum reserves of the group as an intermediary.

4.

Where a parent applies for permission to hold the minimum reserves of the group as an intermediary pursuant to paragraph 3, that parent shall conclude an agreement with each institution in that group to act as an intermediary. Those agreements shall specify at least the following:

5.

The relevant NCB may grant permission to the applicant institution to hold minimum reserves through an intermediary and shall notify that institution and the intermediary institution thereof without undue delay. That permission shall take effect from the start of the first maintenance period following the date permission is granted, and shall apply for the duration of the agreement referred to in paragraph 2 or 4, or until the permission is withdrawn pursuant to paragraphs 7 and 8.

A permission granted to an institution to hold minimum reserves through an intermediary pursuant to Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1745/2003 (ECB/2003/9) shall be deemed to be granted in accordance with this paragraph for the purposes of this Regulation.

6.

Where an intermediary institution holds minimum reserves for another institution pursuant to this Article, it shall hold those reserves in its own reserve accounts in addition to its own reserves held in accordance with this Regulation.

7.

The ECB or the relevant NCB may, at any time, withdraw the permission granted pursuant to paragraph 5 where any of the following apply:

8.

The relevant NCB or the ECB shall consider the following when determining whether to withdraw permission pursuant to paragraph 7:

9.

Where the relevant NCB or the ECB withdraws permission pursuant to paragraph 7, the following shall apply:

10.

Where the ECB imposes sanctions pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2532/98, it may impose those sanctions on the intermediary institution and the institution for which it holds reserves.

Article 11

Aggregated reporting of the reserve base

1.

Where an institution applies to the relevant NCB for permission to hold all its minimum reserves indirectly through a parent institution pursuant to Article 10(3), that parent institution may apply to the relevant NCB for permission to report the reserve base and the reserve base of the institutions in that group on an aggregated basis and in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2). NCBs may grant permission to parent institutions to report the reserve base on an aggregated basis and in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2).

2.

Where a parent institution applies to the relevant NCB for permission to report the reserve base on an aggregated basis pursuant to paragraph 1, the relevant NCB shall ensure that the agreement referred to in Article 10(4) includes an acknowledgement of the potential loss of the deduction of the lump sum allowance referred to in Article 6(2) at an individual level.

3.

Where the relevant NCB grants permission to a parent institution to report the reserve base on an aggregated basis pursuant to paragraph 1, it shall notify the relevant institution thereof without undue delay. That permission shall take effect from the start of the first maintenance period following the date that the permission is granted, and shall apply for the duration of the agreement referred to in paragraph 2 or until that permission is withdrawn.

4.

Where the relevant NCB grants permission to a parent institution to report the reserve base on an aggregated basis pursuant to paragraph 1, one lump sum allowance referred to in Article 6(2) shall be automatically deducted from the minimum reserves held by the intermediary institution.

5.

A permission granted to an institution by the ECB to report the reserve base on an aggregated basis pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1745/2003 (ECB/2003/9) shall be considered valid and applicable for the purposes of this Regulation until that permission is withdrawn.

Article 12

Mergers and divisions

1.

Where a merger takes effect during a maintenance period, all of the following shall apply:

2.

The following shall apply during the maintenance period immediately following the maintenance period referred to in paragraph 1:

For the purposes of point (b), the calculation shall use the reserve bases of each institution for the relevant maintenance period as if the merger had not occurred, and in accordance with the rules set out in Annex III, Part 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2).

The first subparagraph shall also apply for subsequent maintenance periods where the conditions of paragraph 4 of Part 2 of Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2) are met.

3.

Where a division takes effect during a maintenance period, the following shall apply:

4.

The following shall apply during the maintenance period immediately following the maintenance period in which the division takes effect and until the recipient institutions report their respective reserve bases in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2):

Article 13

Delegation of powers in the event of adoption of the euro

1.

Where a Member State adopts the euro in accordance with the Treaty, the Governing Council hereby delegates power to the Executive Board to determine, after taking into consideration the views of the Market Operations Committee of the ESCB, the following:

The Executive Board shall adopt and publish a decision pursuant to the first subparagraph at least two months prior to the date of the adoption of the euro in the relevant Member State and shall notify the Governing Council thereof.

2.

The Governing Council further delegates to the Executive Board the power to allow for a deduction from the reserve base of liabilities owed to institutions established in the Member State adopting the euro by institutions established in other euro area Member States for the relevant maintenance periods during and immediately following the transitional maintenance period referred to in paragraph 1(a).

This first subparagraph shall apply where institutions in the Member State adopting the euro do not appear on the list of institutions referred to in Article 3(3)(a) at the time the minimum reserves are calculated. In this event, decisions adopted by the Executive Board allowing for the deduction pursuant to this paragraph may further specify the manner of in which the deduction of such liabilities shall be calculated.

Article 14

Verification

1.

The relevant NCBs may exercise the right to verify the accuracy and quality of the information on the reserve base provided by institutions, in accordance with Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2531/98.

2.

Where an institution notifies its calculation of minimum reserves pursuant to Article 7(3), the relevant NCB shall verify the accuracy of that calculation and shall monitor the consistency with the statistical information reported pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2).

Article 15

Repeal

1.

Regulation (EC) No 1745/2003 (ECB/2003/9) is repealed with effect from 26 June 2021.

2.

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex II.

Article 16

Final provisions

This Regulation shall enter into force on the fifth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 26 June 2021. However, Article 3 shall apply from 28 July 2021, on the first day of the fifth maintenance period in 2021.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaties.

ANNEX I

Repealed Regulation with list of the successive amendments thereto

Regulation (EC) No 1745/2003 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2003/9) (OJ L 250, 2.10.2003, p. 10).

Regulation (EC) No 1052/2008 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2008/10) (OJ L 282, 25.10.2008, p. 14).

Regulation (EU) No 1358/2011 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2011/26) (OJ L 338, 21.12.2011, p. 51).

Regulation (EU) No 1376/2014 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/52) (OJ L 366, 20.12.2014, p. 79).

Regulation (EU) 2016/1705 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2016/26) (OJ L 257, 23.9.2016, p. 10).

ANNEX II

Correlation table

Regulation (EC) No 1745/2003 This Regulation
Article 1 Article 2
Article 2(1) Article 1
Article 2(2), first subparagraph Article 4(1)
Article 2(2), second subparagraph Article 4(2), 4(3)
Article 2(3) Article 3(3)
— Article (3)(1)(d) and Article 3(4)
Article 3(1) Article 5(1)
Article 3(2) Article 5(2)
Article 3(2a), first subparagraph Article 5(3)
Article 3(2a), second subparagraph Article 5(4)
— Article 5(5)
Article 3(3) Article 5(6)
Article 3(4) Article 5(7)
Article 4(1) Article 6(1)(a)
Article 4(2) Article 6(1)(b)
Article 5(1) Article 6(1), introductory sentence and Article 6(3)
Article 5(2) Article 6(2)
Article 5(3) Article 7(1) to (5)
Article 5(4) Article 7(6)
Article 5(5) Article 7(7)
Article 6(1), first and second sentences Article 3(1)(b)
Article 6(1), third sentence Article 3(1)(c)
Article 6(2) Article 3(1)(a)
Article 6(3) Article 3(2)
Article 7 Article 8
Article 8 Article 9
Article 9 Article 14(1)
Article 10(1) and (2) Article 10(1) and (2), 10(5)
Article 10(3) Article 10(6) and (10)
Article 10(4) Article 10(7) and Article 10(9)(a) and (c)
Article 10(5) Article 10(9)(b)
— Article 10(4) to (5) and (8)
Article 10(6) Recital 5, Article 14(2)
Article 11 Article 11
Article 12 —
Article 13 Article 12
Article 13a Article 13
Article 14 Article 15
—
Article 15 Article 16
— Annexes I and II

[^E0001]: Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms, amending Directive 2002/87/EC and repealing Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 338).

[^E0002]: Guideline (EU) 2022/912 of the European Central Bank of 24 February 2022 on a new-generation Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer system (TARGET) and repealing Guideline ECB/2012/27 (ECB/2022/8) (OJ L 163, 17.6.2022, p. 84).

[^E0003]: Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8).

[^E0004]: Directive 2001/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 April 2001 on the reorganisation and winding up of credit institutions (OJ L 125, 5.5.2001, p. 15).

[^E0005]: Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the European Central Bank of 19 December 2014 on the implementation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework (ECB/2014/60) (OJ L 91, 2.4.2015, p. 3).

[^E0006]: Guideline (EU) 2019/671 of the European Central Bank of 9 April 2019 on domestic asset and liability management operations by the national central banks (ECB/2019/7) (OJ L 113, 29.4.2019, p. 11).

Reading this document does not replace reading the official text published in the Official Journal of the European Union. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the conversion of the original to this format.

This text is published under EUR-Lex's own terms of reuse, not a Legalize or public-domain licence. EUR-Lex
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
© European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu — Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union). Reused under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Only EU legislation published in the printed Official Journal of the European Union is deemed authentic; consolidated texts are reproduced here for documentation purposes and have been reformatted to Markdown.