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The capital of the ECB comes from the national central banks (NCBs) of all EU Member States. It amounts to €10,760,652,402.58 (as of 29 December 2010).
The NCBs’ shares in this capital are calculated using a key which reflects the respective country’s share in the total population and gross domestic product of the EU. These two determinants have equal weighting. The ECB adjusts the shares every five years and whenever a new country joins the EU. The adjustment is made on the basis of data provided by the European Commission.
Since the start of Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union on 1 January 1999 the capital key has changed four times: a five-yearly update was made on 1 January 2004 and again on 1 January 2009; additional changes were made on 1 May 2004 (when the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia joined the EU) and on 1 January 2007 (when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU).
With effect from 29 December 2010, the ECB increased its subscribed capital from €5.76 billion to €10.76 billion (see the ECB’s press release of 16 December 2010). It was agreed that the euro area NCBs would pay the resulting additional capital contributions in three instalments. They paid the first and second such instalments on 29 December 2010 and 28 December 2011 respectively, while the final instalment was paid on 27 December 2012. Following this instalment, the capital paid to the ECB by the euro area NCBs amounts to €7,529,282,289.35 and breaks down as follows:
| NCB | Capital key % | Paid-up capital (€) |
|---|---|---|
| Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique | 2.4256 | 261,010,384.68 |
| Deutsche Bundesbank | 18.9373 | 2,037,777,027.43 |
| Eesti Pank | 0.1790 | 19,261,567.80 |
| Central Bank of Ireland | 1.1107 | 119,518,566.24 |
| Bank of Greece | 1.9649 | 211,436,059.06 |
| Banco de España | 8.3040 | 893,564,575.51 |
| Banque de France | 14.2212 | 1,530,293,899.48 |
| Banca d'Italia | 12.4966 | 1,344,715,688.14 |
| Central Bank of Cyprus | 0.1369 | 14,731,333.14 |
| Banque centrale du Luxembourg | 0.1747 | 18,798,859.75 |
| Central Bank of Malta | 0.0632 | 6,800,732.32 |
| De Nederlandsche Bank | 3.9882 | 429,156,339.12 |
| Oesterreichische Nationalbank | 1.9417 | 208,939,587.70 |
| Banco de Portugal | 1.7504 | 188,354,459.65 |
| Banka Slovenije | 0.3288 | 35,381,025.10 |
| Národná banka Slovenska | 0.6934 | 74,614,363.76 |
| Suomen Pankki – Finlands Bank | 1.2539 | 134,927,820.48 |
| Total1 | 69.9705 | 7,529,282,289.35 |
The net profits and losses of the ECB are allocated among the euro area NCBs in accordance with Article 33 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (see the legal framework):
Allocation of net profits and losses of the ECB
33.1. The net profit of the ECB shall be transferred in the following order:(a) an amount to be determined by the Governing Council, which may not exceed 20% of the net profit, shall be transferred to the general reserve fund subject to a limit equal to 100% of the capital;
(b) the remaining net profit shall be distributed to the shareholders of the ECB in proportion to their paid-up shares.
33.2. In the event of a loss incurred by the ECB, the shortfall may be offset against the general reserve fund of the ECB and, if necessary, following a decision by the Governing Council, against the monetary income of the relevant financial year in proportion and up to the amounts allocated to the national central banks in accordance with Article 32.5.
1) Owing to rounding, the total may not correspond to the sum of all figures shown.
The EU’s ten non-euro area NCBs are required to contribute to the operational costs incurred by the ECB in relation to their participation in the European System of Central Banks by paying up a small percentage of their share in the ECB’s subscribed capital. Since 29 December 2010 their contributions have represented 3.75% of their total share in the subscribed capital. The capital paid to the ECB by the non-euro area NCBs amounts to €121,176,379.25 and breaks down as follows:
| NCB | Capital key % | Paid-up capital (€) |
|---|---|---|
| Българска народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank) | 0.8686 | 3,505,013.50 |
| Česká národní banka | 1.4472 | 5,839,806.06 |
| Danmarks Nationalbank | 1.4835 | 5,986,285.44 |
| Latvijas Banka | 0.2837 | 1,144,798.91 |
| Lietuvos bankas | 0.4256 | 1,717,400.12 |
| Magyar Nemzeti Bank | 1.3856 | 5,591,234.99 |
| Narodowy Bank Polski | 4.8954 | 19,754,136.66 |
| Banca Naţională a României | 2.4645 | 9,944,860.44 |
| Sveriges Riksbank | 2.2582 | 9,112,389.47 |
| Bank of England | 14.5172 | 58,580,453.65 |
| Total1 | 30.0295 | 121,176,379.25 |
The non-euro area NCBs are not entitled to receive any share of the distributable profits of the ECB, nor are they liable to fund any losses of the ECB.
1) Owing to rounding, the total may not correspond to the sum of all figures shown.
