ANNUAL REPORT 2008 - Polymer Bank Notes of the World

the Financial Collateral Directive, the proposalalso includes credit claims eligible for thecollateralisation of central bank credit operationsin order to facilitate their use throughout the EU.In its opinion, the ECB welcomed the proposaland suggested in particular that the definitionof “system” should be extended i) to expresslyinclude systems established by an ECB legalact and ii) to allow the ECB to designate suchECB systems itself. The ECB also proposedthat credit claims be included in the scope ofthe Financial Collateral Directive accordingto a single general definition that is not linkedto central bank eligibility, and recommendedharmonising some elements of the conflict oflaw rules on credit claims in the EU.The ECB was also consulted on a proposal fora directive amending the Capital RequirementsDirective 29 with respect to banks affiliated tocentral institutions and certain own funds items.The ECB issued an opinion 30 on a proposalfor a directive amending the E-moneyDirective 31 which aims to open up the marketfor the issuance of electronic money, throughelectronic money institutions (ELMIs). TheECB supported the review but expressed seriousconcerns about changing the nature of ELMIs to“financial institutions”, as defined in the recastDirective 2006/48/EC, 32 since this would havefar-reaching consequences for the conduct ofmonetary policy. The proposed directive alsocauses concern from a supervisory perspective,as it lightens the supervisory regime of ELMIswhile simultaneously broadening the scope ofthe activities ELMIs may undertake.With regard to the Lamfalussy framework, 33 aspart of the process of clarifying and expandingthe scope of the tasks of the Level 3 Committees(the Committee of European BankingSupervisors (CEBS), the Committee of EuropeanInsurance and Occupational PensionsSupervisors (CEIOPS) and the Committee ofEuropean Securities Regulators (CESR)), theECB was consulted on a draft Commissiondecision establishing CEBS, replacingCommission Decision 2004/10 34 . The ECBopinion 35 welcomed the proposed amendmentsand emphasised that its specific comments werewithout prejudice to possible future contributionsto the broader debate, for instance in relation tothe high-level group chaired by Jacques deLarosière. The ECB suggested a fewamendments to the draft decision, in particularregarding the involvement of the ECB and theBanking Supervision Committee in certainCEBS tasks. The ECB recommended ensuringconsistency between the provisions of the draftdecision and those of the CEBS charter regardingvoting procedures and suggested that theCommission take into account these comments,wherever applicable, for the draft decisions onthe other two Level 3 Committees, on which theECB is not being consulted.The ECB also issued an opinion 36 on a proposalfor a regulation on cross-border paymentsreplacing Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 37 .While welcoming the inclusion of crossborderdirect debits in the proposed regulation,the ECB warned that balance of payments(b.o.p.) reporting issues would require carefulconsideration. In this context, it is essential thatthe user needs for euro area and national b.o.p.statistics be met and that the timely emergenceof SEPA be safeguarded. The development ofSEPA implies that b.o.p. reporting systems basedmainly on payments data cannot be maintained,as these are for payments in euro within the29 The Capital Requirements Directive consists of Directive 2006/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of creditinstitutions (recast), OJ L 177, 30.6.2006, p. 1 and Directive2006/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of14 June 2006 on the capital adequacy of investment firms andcredit institutions (recast), OJ L 177, 30.6.2006, p. 201.30 CON/2008/84.31 Directive 2000/46/EC of the European Parliament and of theCouncil of 18 September 2000 on the taking up, pursuit ofand prudential supervision of the business of electronic moneyinstitutions, OJ L 275, 27.10.2000, p. 39.32 See Articles 4(1) and (5) of Directive 2006/48/EC, as cited infootnote 30.33 For more details, see Section 2 of Chapter 4.34 Commission Decision 2004/10 of 5 November 2003 establishingthe European Banking Committee, OJ L 3, 7.1.2004, p. 36.35 CON/2008/63.36 CON/2009/1.37 Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 of the European Parliament andof the Council of 19 December 2001 on cross-border paymentsin euro, OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 13.ECBAnnual Report2008131