Participation in ECB capital
The National Central Banks are not the only subscribers and stake holders of ECB capital.
Under the European Union Treaty, the ECB received a capital of €5 billion from the National Central Banks.
To establish a stake percentage in the EBC's total capital, the procedure used was that established in Section 1, Article 109 L of the Treaty, which established that each National Central Bank is assigned a weighted proportion in the capital that is the sum of:
- 50% based on the participation of the Member State in relation to the population of the Community the penultimate year before the ESBC was set up;
- 50% based on the participation of the Member State in relation to the Community's GDP, at market prices, as recorded in the five years prior to the penultimate year before the ESCB was set up;
The percentages were rounded up to the closest multiple of 0.05 percentage points. These assigned portions are adjusted every five years since the ESCB was set up.
Furthermore, the National Central Banks provide the ECB with exterior reserve assets up to an equivalent of €50 billion, the distribution of which was also established in proportion to their share in the ECB's subscribed capital.
Due to the new incorporations in the EU, since 1 January 2007, the ECB's subscribed capital amounts to €5,760,652,402.58.
The part paid up by the National Central Banks (NCB) in the Eurozone amounts to a total of €4,014,961,580.45, distributed as follows:
| Country | Capital percentage % | Capital paid up (€) |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 20’5211 | 1.182.149.240’19 |
| Austria | 2’0159 | 116.128.991’78 |
| Belgium | 2’4708 | 142.334.199’56 |
| Cyprus | 0'1249 | 7.195.054'85 |
| Slovenia | 0’3194 | 18.399.523’77 |
| Spain | 7’5498 | 434.917.735’09 |
| Finland | 1’2448 | 71.708.601’11 |
| France | 14’3875 | 828.813.864’42 |
| Greece | 1’8168 | 104.659.532’85 |
| Netherlands | 3’8937 | 224.302.522’60 |
| Ireland | 0’8885 | 51.183.396’60 |
| Italy | 12’5297 | 721.792.464’09 |
| Luxembourg | 0’1575 | 9.073.027’53 |
| Malta | 0'0622 | 3.583.125'79 |
| Portugal | 1’7137 | 98.720.300’22 |
| Total | 69’6963 | 4.014.961.580’45 |
The National Central Banks of the twelve EU countries that do not belong to the Eurozone have to pay up a minimum percentage of the subscribed capital as a contribution to the ECB operation costs and in relation to their participation in the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
Since 1 January 2008, these contributions represent 7% of the capital they have subscribed, amounting to a total of €122,198,357.54, distributed as follows:
| Country | Capital percentage % | Capital paid up (€) |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 0’8833 | 3.561.868’99 |
| Denmark | 1’5138 | 6.104.332’92 |
| Estonia | 0’1703 | 686.727’37 |
| Hungary | 1’3141 | 5.299.051’33 |
| Latvia | 0’2813 | 1.134.330’06 |
| Lithuania | 0’4178 | 1.684.760’40 |
| Poland | 4’8748 | 19.657.419’83 |
| United Kingdom | 13’9337 | 56.187.041’67 |
| Czech Republic | 1’3880 | 5.597.049’87 |
| Slovak Republic | 0’6765 | 2.727.956’95 |
| Romania | 2’5188 | 10.156.951’89 |
| Sweden | 2’3313 | 9.400.866’26 |
| Total | 30’3037 | 122.198.357'54 |
The NCB of the countries that do not belong to the Eurozone do not have any right to a share in the profits distributed by the ECB, nor are they responsible for covering losses.