PRESS RELEASE

ECB’s subscribed capital to remain steady after Bank of England leaves the European System of Central Banks

Total subscribed capital of the ECB to remain at €10.8 billion

ECB to repay Bank of England’s share in its paid-up capital (€58 million)

Bank of England’s share in ECB’s subscribed capital to be reallocated among remaining national central banks

The European Central Bank (ECB) will keep its subscribed capital steady at €10.8 billion after the Bank of England leaves the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). The current share of the Bank of England in the ECB’s subscribed capital, which stands at 14.3%, will be reallocated among both the euro area national central banks (NCBs) and the remaining non-euro area NCBs.

The Bank of England is due to withdraw from the ESCB as a consequence of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. It holds 14.3% of the ECB’s subscribed capital, of which 3.75% – equivalent to €58 million – is paid up. This amount will be repaid by the ECB under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU.

As a result, the ECB’s subscribed capital will be reallocated among the other NCBs on the basis of an updated key for subscription to the ECB’s capital. The weightings will be recalculated based on each Member State’s share in the total population and gross domestic product (GDP) of the European Union after the UK leaves the European Union.

Euro area NCBs pay up 100% of their subscriptions to the ECB’s capital, while non-euro area NCBs pay up 3.75% of their subscriptions. Since the shares of euro area NCBs will increase, and will be paid up in full, this will lead to an increase in the ECB’s paid-up capital from €7,659 million in 2020 to €8,880 million in 2022, as shown in the table below. The ECB’s paid-up capital will remain unchanged in the year of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU as the remaining NCBs will cover the withdrawn Bank of England’s paid-up capital of €58 million. Euro area NCBs will then pay up in full their increased subscriptions in two annual instalments, with the first due in 2021. These changes are an investment reflected in the NCBs’ balance sheets.

Breakdown of contributions following Brexit

Euro area NCBs Capital key Subscribed capital Paid-up capital 2020 2021 2022 % EUR EUR EUR EUR Nationale Bank van België/ Banque Nationale de Belgique 2.9630 320,744,959 276,290,917 298,517,938 320,744,959 Deutsche Bundesbank 21.4394 2,320,816,566 1,999,160,135 2,159,988,350 2,320,816,566 Eesti Pank 0.2291 24,800,091 21,362,892 23,081,492 24,800,091 Central Bank of Ireland 1.3772 149,081,997 128,419,794 138,750,896 149,081,997 Bank of Greece 2.0117 217,766,667 187,585,028 202,675,847 217,766,667 Banco de España 9.6981 1,049,820,011 904,318,913 977,069,462 1,049,820,011 Banque de France 16.6108 1,798,120,274 1,548,907,580 1,673,513,927 1,798,120,274 Banca d’Italia 13.8165 1,495,637,102 1,288,347,435 1,391,992,268 1,495,637,102 Central Bank of Cyprus 0.1750 18,943,762 16,318,228 17,630,995 18,943,762 Latvijas Banka 0.3169 34,304,447 29,549,980 31,927,214 34,304,447 Lietuvos bankas 0.4707 50,953,308 43,891,372 47,422,340 50,953,308 Banque centrale du Luxembourg 0.2679 29,000,194 24,980,876 26,990,535 29,000,194 Central Bank of Malta 0.0853 9,233,731 7,953,971 8,593,851 9,233,731 De Nederlandsche Bank 4.7662 515,941,487 444,433,941 480,187,714 515,941,487 Oesterreichische Nationalbank 2.3804 257,678,468 221,965,204 239,821,836 257,678,468 Banco de Portugal 1.9035 206,054,010 177,495,700 191,774,855 206,054,010 Banka Slovenije 0.3916 42,390,728 36,515,533 39,453,130 42,390,728 Národná banka Slovenska 0.9314 100,824,116 86,850,273 93,837,195 100,824,116 Suomen Pankki – Finlands Bank 1.4939 161,714,781 139,301,721 150,508,251 161,714,781 Subtotal for the group of euro area NCBs 81.3286 8,803,826,700 7,583,649,493 8,193,738,097 8,803,826,700 Българска народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank) 0.9832 106,431,470 3,991,180 3,991,180 3,991,180 Česká národní banka 1.8794 203,445,183 7,629,194 7,629,194 7,629,194 Danmarks Nationalbank 1.7591 190,422,699 7,140,851 7,140,851 7,140,851 Hrvatska narodna banka 0.6595 71,390,922 2,677,160 2,677,160 2,677,160 Magyar Nemzeti Bank 1.5488 167,657,709 6,287,164 6,287,164 6,287,164 Narodowy Bank Polski 6.0335 653,126,802 24,492,255 24,492,255 24,492,255 Banca Naţională a României 2.8289 306,228,625 11,483,573 11,483,573 11,483,573 Sveriges Riksbank 2.9790 322,476,961 12,092,886 12,092,886 12,092,886 Subtotal for the group of non-euro area NCBs 18.6714 2,021,180,370 75,794,264 75,794,264 75,794,264 Total 100.0000 10,825,007,070 7,659,443,757 8,269,532,360 8,879,620,963

The numbers may not add up owing to rounding.

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