Introductory text

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 132(3) thereof,

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular Articles 34.3 and 19.1 thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions^f1, and in particular Article 6(2) thereof,

Whereas:

The European Central Bank (ECB) has applied Regulation (EC) No 2157/1999 of the European Central Bank (ECB/1999/4)^f2 to impose sanctions in its various fields of competence, including in particular the implementation of the monetary policy of the Union, the operation of payment systems and the collection of statistical information.

Regulation (EU) No 795/2014 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/28)^f3 entitles the ECB to impose sanctions on operators of systemically important payment systems (SIPS) in the case of an infringement of that Regulation.

In the area of the oversight of SIPS, the experience gained in conducting the first comprehensive assessment under Regulation (EU) No 795/2014 (ECB/2014/28) has demonstrated that certain amendments need to be made to Regulation (EC) No 2157/1999 (ECB/1999/4) to ensure that sanctions can be effectively imposed for oversight infringements.

In particular, clarification of the definition of a competent national central bank is required to ensure consistency with the definition of a competent authority in Regulation (EU) No 795/2014 (ECB/2014/28). In addition, clarification of the composition of the internal independent investigating unit is required to ensure it can independently perform its investigative functions in the field of payment systems oversight.

Therefore, Regulation (EC) No 2157/1999 (ECB/1999/4) should be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: