FAQs on the ECB’s Annual Accounts

Section 1 – Questions on the financial statements

What is the legal basis for the ECB’s financial statements?

The annual financial statements of the ECB are prepared in accordance with Decision (EU) 2024/2938 of the European Central Bank of 14 November 2024 on the annual accounts of the European Central Bank (ECB/2024/32). That Decision is based on Guideline (EU) 2024/2941 of the European Central Bank of 14 November 2024 on the legal framework for accounting and financial reporting in the European System of Central Banks (ECB/2024/31). The accounting policies laid down in this Guideline are specific to the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and follow the provisions of Article 26.4 of Protocol (No 4) on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (Statute of the ESCB), which require a harmonised approach to accounting and financial reporting of Eurosystem operations.

What is the format of the ECB’s financial statements?

The format of the ECB’s annual financial statements has been developed to present the outcome of central bank activities, addressing the needs of users of financial statements. In particular, positions denominated in foreign currency, euro or related to monetary policy instruments are shown separately in the balance sheet in order to provide information relevant for the purposes of liquidity analysis. The formats of the ECB’s annual balance sheet and its profit and loss account are set out in Annexes II and III of Decision (EU) 2024/2938.

Meanwhile, national central banks (NCBs) are recommended to adapt the format of their published annual balance sheets and profit and loss accounts in accordance with Annexes VIII and IX of Guideline (EU) 2024/2941.

How are foreign reserves revalued?

Foreign reserves, including gold, are revalued at market rates prevailing on the balance sheet date. In this context, assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency, including on-balance-sheet and off-balance-sheet instruments such as foreign exchange swap and forward transactions, are translated into euro on a currency-by-currency basis.

In addition, items accounted for at market price, such as securities denominated in foreign currencies, are revalued on an item-by-item basis either at the mid-market prices or on the basis of the relevant yield curves prevailing on the balance sheet date. This market price revaluation is separate from the exchange rate revaluation.

For gold, a single revaluation takes place (i.e. no distinction is made between price and currency revaluation).

How are unrealised gains and losses treated?

Unrealised gains and losses result from the period-end revaluation of foreign currencies, securities, other financial instruments and gold at current market rates and prices. Given that the Eurosystem applies the prudence principle when recognising income, such revaluation gains and losses are treated asymmetrically under the Eurosystem accounting rules (see Article 3 of Guideline (EU) 2024/2941):

• Unrealised gains are not recognised as income in the profit and loss account but are recorded directly under “Revaluation accounts” in the balance sheet. This means that unrealised gains are not part of the ECB’s result for the year, and consequently also not part of the distributable profit.
• On the other hand, unrealised losses at year-end are recorded as “Write-downs on financial assets and positions” in the profit and loss account if they exceed the previous revaluation gains recorded in the corresponding revaluation account.

Unrealised losses in any currency, security or other financial instrument or in gold holdings are not netted against unrealised gains in any other currency, security or financial instrument or in gold (see Articles 16(1) and 18(2) of Guideline (EU) 2024/2941).

How are securities held for monetary policy purposes accounted for?

In accordance with Article 9(4) of Decision (EU) 2024/2938, marketable securities held for monetary policy purposes are treated as separate holdings and are valued either at market price or at amortised cost (subject to impairment), depending on monetary policy considerations.

In line with the relevant decisions taken by the ECB’s Governing Council, debt securities held by the Eurosystem for monetary policy purposes (under the Securities Markets Programme, the asset purchase programme and the pandemic emergency purchase programme) are accounted for at amortised cost subject to impairment based on monetary policy considerations (for further details on the asset purchase programmes, see Asset purchase programmes on the ECB’s website). This means that changes in the market value of these securities do not influence their book value recognised in the balance sheet. And since there is no revaluation, the revaluation accounts and profit and loss account are also not affected by movements in their market prices. However, for transparency purposes, the notes to the ECB’s financial statements also disclose the market values of debt securities held for monetary policy purposes, in addition to the amortised cost.

The Eurosystem applies harmonised impairment rules for these securities. Impairment tests are conducted annually using year-end data.

How is the ECB’s seigniorage income defined?

Seigniorage is the income earned by a central bank related to the issuance of banknotes. Although banknote liabilities are not remunerated, in general the assets held against banknotes in circulation are interest-bearing and generate income for central banks.

In practice, euro banknotes are physically put into and withdrawn from circulation only by euro area NCBs. From the legal perspective, however, both the ECB and the NCBs can issue euro banknotes. Based on Decision of the European Central Bank of 13 December 2010 on the issue of euro banknotes (ECB/2010/29), an 8% share of the total value of euro banknotes in circulation is deemed to be issued by the ECB and is disclosed as a liability in its balance sheet under “Banknotes in circulation” (see Why does the ECB have a banknote liability?). Claims against the NCBs equivalent to the value of these banknotes are disclosed as an asset in the ECB’s balance sheet under “Claims related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem”.

Under Decision (EU) 2016/2248 of the European Central Bank of 3 November 2016 on the allocation of monetary income of the national central banks of Member States whose currency is the euro (ECB/2016/36), these claims are remunerated at the latest available interest rate applied to the deposit facility offered by the Eurosystem in accordance with Articles 21 to 23 of Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/60). The remuneration earned by the ECB on these claims is the ECB’s seigniorage income and is disclosed in the profit and loss account under “Interest income”.

The concept of seigniorage is narrower than the concept of monetary income as it is limited to banknotes and does not extend to other matters related to monetary policy at the Eurosystem level (see What is the “monetary income” of the Eurosystem?).

Further reference:

Explainer: What is seigniorage?

How does the ECB cover its operating expenses?

The ECB incurs operating expenses when performing its activities as described in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Statute of the ESCB.

A significant portion of the operating expenses relates to the ECB’s banking supervision tasks and is fully covered by annual fees levied on the supervised banks. In addition, the ECB’s own funds portfolio also provides the ECB with income to help fund its operating expenses (for further details on the ECB’s own funds portfolio, see Foreign reserves and own funds on the ECB’s website). The remaining operating expenses are covered by the ECB’s income from other sources.

The ECB’s operating expenses are defined by the annual budget. In line with Article 15 of the Rules of Procedure of the ECB, the Governing Council adopts the ECB’s annual budget, assisted by the Budget Committee^[1], following a proposal from the Executive Board and, for matters related to banking supervision, in consultation with the Chair and the Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board.

Where do the ECB’s profits go?

In accordance with Article 33.1 of the Statute of the ESCB, the ECB’s net profit (i.e. after any transfers to/from the provision for financial risks), if any, is allocated in the following order:

• An amount to be determined by the Governing Council, which may not exceed 20% of the net profit, may be transferred to the general reserve fund to cover potential future losses (see How can the ECB cover its losses?), subject to a limit equal to the capital paid up by the euro area NCBs (see Capital subscription on the ECB’s website).
• The limit of the capital paid-up by the euro area NCBs is applied jointly to the general reserve fund and the provision for financial risks (see What is the difference between provisions and reserves?). In other words, the total amount of these two items together cannot exceed the value of the ECB’s capital paid up by the euro area NCBs as at the year-end.
• The remaining net profit is distributed to the NCBs of the euro area countries in proportion to their shares in the ECB’s capital (see Capital subscription on the ECB’s website).

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 of its losses.

Further reference:

Explainer: Profits and losses of the ECB and the euro area national central banks: where do they come from?

Bunea, D., Karakitsos, P., Merriman, N. and Studener, W., “Profit distribution and loss coverage rules for central banks”, Occasional Paper Series, No 169, ECB, April 2016.

What impact do changes in the ECB’s key interest rates have on the ECB’s result?

The ECB’s result is affected directly and indirectly by changes in the ECB’s key interest rates (see Key ECB interest rates on the ECB’s website).

The direct impact comes from balance sheet items whose remuneration is linked to one of the key interest rates. If interest rates increase, the ECB earns higher income on some of its assets and pays higher expenses on part of its liabilities, and vice versa.

The indirect effects are less obvious. For example, when the ECB increases its key interest rates, the yields of euro-denominated bonds are expected to rise as well. This rise, however, does not instantly translate into higher interest income from the, largely, fixed-coupon euro-denominated bonds already held by the ECB, mostly for monetary policy purposes. These bonds have a longer duration and mature only gradually. Furthermore, the respective redemption proceeds may be reinvested, or not, depending on what the Governing Council decides. Consequently, assets earning the higher yields only account for a fraction of the total amount of bonds held. At the same time, increases in key interest rates instantly lead to higher interest expenses on the corresponding liabilities, with no equivalent increase in interest income earned on the bonds. Similarly, policy rate cuts instantly result in lower interest expenses on the corresponding liabilities but have less of an impact on the interest earned on the euro-denominated bonds held by the ECB. In other words, the ECB is subject to funding interest rate risk, which is not directly linked to any particular portfolio but rather to the structure of the ECB’s balance sheet as a whole and, in particular, the existence of yield and maturity mismatches between assets and liabilities.

Furthermore, there could be further effects from changes in interest rates and market yields, for example on the valuation of securities that are revalued at market prices.

Section 2 – Questions on capital, reserves, provisions and loss coverage

How can the ECB cover its losses?

First, the balances in the revaluation accounts can absorb the impact of unfavourable movements in the prices and/or exchange rates of corresponding items (see Can the revaluation accounts be used to cover unrealised losses?).

At the year-end, the provision for financial risks can also be used, to the extent deemed necessary by the Governing Council, to offset losses that arise as a result of exposures to financial risks. This provision is considered an “above-the-line” buffer, which means that it is released before the ECB’s result for the year has been established (the provision for financial risks currently stands at zero; see What rules apply to the creation and use of the provision for financial risks?).

Under Article 33.2 of the Statute of the ESCB, if the ECB reports a loss for the year (i.e. after any releases from the provision for financial risks), this loss may be offset against the general reserve fund, which is built up from undistributed profits in previous years (the general reserve fund currently stands at zero; see What is the difference between provisions and reserves?). The Governing Council may also decide to offset the ECB’s loss against the monetary income earned by the euro area national central banks (NCBs) in the same financial year (see What is the “monetary income” of the Eurosystem?). Unlike the provision for financial risks, the general reserve fund and the NCBs’ monetary income are considered “below-the-line” buffers, which means they are used after the ECB’s result for the year has been established.

Losses that have not been offset against the general reserve fund or the monetary income earned by the euro area NCBs are carried forward in the ECB’s balance sheet, to be offset against future profits.

Can the revaluation accounts be used to cover unrealised losses?

The asymmetric treatment of revaluation results leads to unrealised gains being recorded directly under “Revaluation accounts”, thereby preventing their distribution (see How are unrealised gains and losses treated?). These balances can absorb the impact of unfavourable future movements in exchange rates and/or prices. However, unrealised gains in any currency, security or other financial instrument or in gold holdings can only be used to offset future unrealised losses arising from the same currency, security or other financial instrument or gold (see Articles 16(1) and 18(2) of Guideline (EU) 2024/2941).

Unrealised losses exceeding previous revaluation gains recorded in the corresponding revaluation account at the year-end are taken to the profit and loss account as “Write-downs on financial assets and positions”.

What rules apply to the creation and use of the provision for financial risks?

In view of its exposure to financial risks, the ECB can establish a provision for financial risks, which is funded from the ECB’s income. This provision can be used, to the extent deemed necessary by the Governing Council, to offset losses that arise as a result of exposures to financial risks (see How can the ECB cover its losses?). The size of, and continuing requirement for, this provision is reviewed annually, based on the ECB’s assessment of its exposure to these risks and taking a range of factors into account, including the level of holdings of risk-bearing assets, the projected results for the coming year and a risk assessment; unless (i) its size is zero, and (ii) there is no ECB income to be transferred to it. Its size, together with any amount held in the ECB’s general reserve fund, may not exceed the value of the capital paid up by the euro area NCBs (see Capital subscription on the ECB’s website).

What is the difference between provisions and reserves?

Provisions are amounts set aside in order to provide for any known or expected liability or risk, the cost of which cannot be accurately determined. They are set aside or released before arriving at the result for the year. The ECB has administrative provisions and may also fund a provision for financial risks (which currently stands at zero; see What rules apply to the creation and use of the provision for financial risks?), which are reported in the balance sheet under “Other provisions” and “Risk provisions” respectively. The provision for financial risks is considered an “above-the-line” buffer (see How can the ECB cover its losses?) and is therefore released before the ECB’s result for the year is established.

Reserves, by contrast, are amounts set aside out of profit for the year which are not intended to meet any specific liability, contingency or expected reduction in the value of assets known to exist at the balance sheet date. The ECB may build up a general reserve fund to be recorded in the balance sheet under “Capital and reserves” (the general reserve fund currently stands at zero; see Where do the ECB’s profits go?). Unlike the provision for financial risks, the general reserve fund is a “below-the-line” buffer and may be used to offset any loss for the year not covered by “above-the-line” buffers (see How can the ECB cover its losses?).

What happens if the ECB faces (repeated) losses?

The ECB’s mandate is to maintain price stability, not to generate profits or to avoid losses. Thus decisions taken in this context are solely based on considerations aiming to ensure that monetary policy is effective, even if pursuing the right policies could temporarily result in a reduction in the reported results. Accordingly, profits and losses are side effects of the effort to fulfil the ECB’s primary mandate. In any case, the ECB can effectively operate and fulfil its primary mandate to maintain price stability regardless of any losses.

In the event of losses, the ECB relies first on the resources set aside in previous years. If ECB’s provision for financial risks is not sufficient to cover the losses incurred during the period, the ECB, subject to a Governing Council decision, can offset the loss against the general reserve fund, which is built up from undistributed profits in previous years (the provision for financial risks and the general reserve fund currently stand at zero), or have recourse to the NCBs’ monetary income to cover the outstanding loss for the year. Any further amount is carried forward on the ECB’s balance sheet, to be offset against future profits (see How can the ECB cover its losses?).

What is the relation between the ECB’s subscribed capital and its paid-up capital?

The capital of the ECB comes from the NCBs of all EU Member States (for further details on the ECB’s subscribed and paid-up capital, see Capital subscription on the ECB’s website). The NCBs’ shares in this capital are calculated using a capital key which reflects the respective country’s share in the total population and gross domestic product of the European Union.

While euro area NCBs are required to pay up their share of the ECB’s subscribed capital in full, non-euro area NCBs pay only 3.75% of their share of the subscribed capital as a contribution to the operational costs of the ECB. Thus, the ECB’s paid-up capital is less than the subscribed capital.

The paid-up capital of the ECB would be equal to its subscribed capital if all EU countries joined the euro area and their NCBs paid their full capital subscription to the ECB.

Further reference:

The Eurosystem capital key is derived from the capital keys of the euro area NCBs (see Eurosystem capital key on the ECB’s website). It was used, for example, to guide purchases in some of the ECB’s asset purchase programmes.

How does the ECB invest its paid-up capital?

The ECB’s paid-up capital is invested in euro-denominated assets in the own funds portfolio (for further details on the ECB’s own funds portfolio, see Foreign reserves and own funds on the ECB’s website), which is reported in the balance sheet under “Other financial assets”. The own funds portfolio provides the ECB with income to help fund those operating expenses that are not related to the delivery of its supervisory tasks (see How does the ECB cover its operating expenses?).

Further reference:

Vergote, O., Studener, W., Efthymiadis, I. and Merriman, N., “Main drivers of the ECB financial accounts and ECB financial strength over the first 11 years”, Occasional Paper Series, No 111, ECB, May 2010.

Section 3 – Questions on the ECB as part of the Eurosystem

What is the “monetary income” of the Eurosystem?

Eurosystem monetary policy is implemented in a decentralised manner. Thus, Eurosystem monetary policy operations and the resulting income and expenses are recorded in the separate financial statements of the euro area national central banks (NCBs) and the ECB (see How does the impact of monetary policy implementation on the ECB’s and NCBs’ balance sheets differ?). In line with Article 32 of the Statute of the ESCB, the net income generated by the euro area NCBs in the performance of the monetary policy function is defined as the monetary income of the Eurosystem. It is not retained by the particular NCB in which it arose but is pooled and then redistributed at the end of each financial year.

The process of allocating monetary income among euro area NCBs consists of several steps. The first step entails determining the amount of each euro area NCB’s monetary income. This is done by looking at the assets held against banknotes in circulation and deposit liabilities to credit institutions. Both the asset and liability positions to be considered and the methodology for calculating the related income are set out in Decision (EU) 2016/2248. For example, the income that the NCBs generate from lending to commercial institutions (i.e. from the main refinancing operations or longer-term refinancing operations) is considered to be monetary income.

The second step involves allocating the sum of euro area NCBs’ monetary income to the NCBs in proportion to their shares in the ECB’s capital (see Capital subscription on the ECB’s website).

Finally, the difference between the amounts determined in the second and first steps is calculated. Each euro area NCB receives or pays the difference between its monetary income share according to its share in the ECB’s capital and the monetary income determined (and pooled) in the first step. For instance, if the monetary income determined for a given NCB is less than its share, it will receive a monetary income allocation payment. This final amount received or paid at the end of reallocation process is reported by euro area NCBs in the profit and loss account under “Net result of pooling of monetary income”.

The reallocation is carried out centrally by the ECB. However, the ECB is not part of the monetary income allocation (see What role does the ECB play in monetary income allocation?) and its result is therefore not affected by this process.

What role does the ECB play in monetary income allocation?

The mechanism for allocating the monetary income of euro area NCBs is laid out in Article 32 of the Statute of the ESCB, which defines monetary income as the income accruing to NCBs in the performance of their monetary policy function. While the ECB is not part of the allocation itself, it has been assigned the task of calculating and distributing the monetary income for the Eurosystem. The ECB informs the NCBs of the cumulative amounts on a quarterly basis, while the allocation of the sum of each NCB’s monetary income in proportion to their shares in the ECB’s capital takes place at the end of each financial year (see What is the “monetary income” of the Eurosystem?).

The ECB is not part of the monetary income allocation of the Eurosystem, but its distributable profit for the year (which comes from all ECB operations, including monetary policy operations) is allocated to the euro area NCBs (see Where do the ECB’s profits go?).

What is behind the ECB’s TARGET balance?

The Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer (TARGET) system is a payment system operated by the Eurosystem to settle payments in euro within the European Union in real time in central bank money. These transactions are initiated either by central banks or by private entities (credit institutions, including on behalf of their clients, and other participating financial market infrastructures). TARGET settles payments related to the Eurosystem’s monetary policy operations, interbank payments, customer payments exchanged between banks, and transactions related to other payment and securities settlement systems. All settlements are automatically aggregated and adjusted to form part of a single position for each NCB vis-à-vis the ECB. These positions in the books of the ECB represent the net claim or liability of each NCB against the rest of the European System of Central Banks. The movements in TARGET accounts are reflected in the accounting records of the NCBs and the ECB on a daily basis.

As a result, the participating euro area NCBs have either a claim or a liability vis-à-vis the ECB. The related single net TARGET asset or liability position is presented in the ECB’s balance sheet under either “Claims related to TARGET (net)” or “Liabilities related to TARGET (net)”. Non-euro area NCBs participating in TARGET can only have a claim against the ECB. Their balances are included in the ECB’s balance sheet under “Liabilities to non-euro area residents denominated in euro”.

The ECB’s net TARGET asset or liability position is the result of a number of events, including the settling of purchases of monetary policy securities via TARGET. When the ECB buys securities from a commercial bank, the commercial bank receives the money in its current account held at the NCB of the country in which the commercial bank is located. This is because commercial banks cannot have current accounts directly with the ECB (see Can credit institutions have current accounts directly with the ECB?). At the same time, the NCB where the commercial bank holds its current account records a TARGET claim vis-à-vis the ECB, while the ECB obtains the security and records a TARGET liability towards the NCB. The opposite process takes place when the securities purchased for monetary policy purposes mature or are redeemed by the issuer.

Further reference:

For further information on TARGET, see TARGET Services on the ECB’s website.

Why does the ECB have a banknote liability?

The ECB and the euro area NCBs, which together comprise the Eurosystem, legally have the right to issue euro banknotes on the basis of Decision ECB/2010/29. In practice, however, euro banknotes are physically put into and withdrawn from circulation only by euro area NCBs. The total value of euro banknotes in circulation is allocated to the Eurosystem central banks on the last working day of each month in accordance with the banknote allocation key defined in that Decision. The relevant amounts are disclosed in the ECB’s and NCBs’ balance sheets as a liability under “Banknotes in circulation”.

The fact that central banks disclose banknotes in circulation on the liabilities side of their balance sheet goes back to times when they would exchange issued banknotes for gold or silver. At that time, banknotes could be considered as promissory notes of the issuing central bank vis-à-vis the holders of the banknotes.

Based on the above Decision, 8% of the value of all euro banknotes in circulation is deemed to be issued by the ECB, while the NCBs put these banknotes into circulation on the ECB’s behalf. As mentioned above, this amount is disclosed by the ECB as a liability under “Banknotes in circulation”. In exchange for this liability, the ECB has claims against the NCBs equivalent to the value of these banknotes. These claims are disclosed under “Claims related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem” and are remunerated at the latest available interest rate applied to the deposit facility offered by the Eurosystem in accordance with Articles 21 to 23 of Guideline (EU) 2015/510 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/60). Interest income on these claims is included in the ECB’s profit and loss account under “Interest income” (see How is the ECB’s “seigniorage” income defined?).

Is there any connection between the financial statements of the ECB and of the euro area NCBs?

The ECB’s balance sheet presents the balances between the ECB and the NCBs under “Intra-Eurosystem claims” and “Intra-Eurosystem liabilities”.

Intra-Eurosystem balances result primarily from cross-border payments that are settled in TARGET and give rise to bilateral positions of euro area NCBs vis-à-vis the ECB (see What is behind the ECB’s TARGET balance?). These are presented in the balance sheet of the ECB and of each NCB as a single net asset or liability position under either “Claims related to TARGET (net)” or “ Liabilities related to TARGET (net)”.

There are also intra-Eurosystem balances arising from the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem that are included in the ECB’s balance sheet as a single net asset under “Claims related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem” (see Why does the ECB have a banknote liability?). The NCBs report a net claim or liability related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem under “Net claims related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem” or “Net liabilities related to the allocation of euro banknotes within the Eurosystem”.

Further intra-Eurosystem balances arise from the transfer of foreign reserve assets to the ECB when an NCB joins the Eurosystem. The NCBs disclose this amount as “Claims equivalent to the transfer of foreign reserves” on the assets side, while the ECB has a corresponding position on the liabilities side labelled “Liabilities equivalent to the transfer of foreign reserves”.

In addition, the NCBs hold a share in the ECB’s capital and disclose the amount paid-up under “Participating interest in ECB” on the assets side (see Capital subscription on the ECB’s website). The ECB discloses these amounts under “Capital” on the liabilities side of its balance sheet.

Finally, other intra-Eurosystem balances denominated in euro (for example due to the ECB’s interim profit distribution to NCBs, if any) are presented in the balance sheet of the ECB and of each NCB as a single net asset or liability position under either “Other claims within the Eurosystem (net)” or “Other liabilities within the Eurosystem (net)”.

How does the impact of monetary policy implementation on the ECB’s and NCBs’ balance sheets differ?

The operational framework for implementing the Eurosystem’s monetary policy consists of a set of monetary policy instruments. As part of the overall set of instruments, the Eurosystem conducts open market operations, offers standing facilities and requires credit institutions to hold minimum reserves. Apart from open market outright transactions (asset purchases), some of which are conducted directly by the ECB, the specific monetary policy instruments are implemented in a decentralised manner by the NCBs and are reflected in their financial statements, under “Lending to euro area credit institutions related to monetary policy operations denominated in euro” and “Liabilities to euro area credit institutions related to monetary policy operations denominated in euro” in the balance sheet. Accordingly, they have no impact on the ECB’s financial statements (see What is the format of the ECB’s financial statements?).

Further reference:

For further details, see the ECB’s webpages on the Eurosystem’s monetary policy instruments and, more specifically, on its open market operations.

Can credit institutions have current accounts directly with the ECB?

Credit institutions cannot have current accounts directly with the ECB.

Under Article 19 of the Statute of the ESCB, the ECB may require credit institutions established in Member States to hold minimum reserves on current accounts with the ECB and the NCBs in the pursuance of monetary policy objectives. However, Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2021/378 of the European Central Bank of 22 January 2021 on the application of minimum reserve requirements (ECB/2021/1) states that minimum reserves are held on reserve accounts, denominated in euro, with the relevant NCBs in each euro area Member State in which credit institutions are established.

Section 4 – General questions related to the ECB’s Annual Accounts

Where can I find the ECB’s Annual Accounts?

The ECB’s Annual Accounts can be found on the Annual Accounts webpage on the ECB’s website.

Where can I find long-term balance sheet and profit and loss account data?

Data on the ECB’s balance sheet and profit and loss account since 1999 can be downloaded from the Annual Accounts webpage on the ECB’s website (see links in the “Download data” section at the bottom of the Annual Accounts webpage).

For data on the annual consolidated balance sheet of the Eurosystem, see Annual consolidated balance sheet of the Eurosystem on the ECB’s website.

What does the production of the ECB’s financial statements look like?

For information about the preparation and approval process for the ECB’s financial statements, see Production of the ECB’s financial statements on the ECB’s website.