For the purposes of this Directive:
‘deposit’ shall mean any credit balance which results from funds left in an account or from temporary situations deriving from normal banking transactions and which a credit institution must repay under the legal and contractual conditions applicable, and any debt evidenced by a certificate issued by a credit institution.
Shares in United Kingdom and Irish building societies apart from those of a capital nature covered in Article 2 shall be treated as deposits.
Bonds which satisfy the conditions prescribed in Article 22 (4) of Council Directive 85/611/EEC of 20 December 1985 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (Ucits)(1) shall not be considered deposits.
For the purpose of calculating a credit balance, Member States shall apply the rules and regulations relating to set-off and counterclaims according to the legal and contractual conditions applicable to a deposit;
‘joint account’ shall mean an account opened in the names of two or more persons or over which two or more persons have rights that may operate against the signature of one or more of those persons;
‘unavailable deposit’ shall mean a deposit that is due and payable but has not been paid by a credit institution under the legal and contractual conditions applicable thereto, where either:
the relevant competent authorities have determined that in their view the credit institution concerned appears to be unable for the time being, for reasons which are directly related to its financial circumstances, to repay the deposit and to have no current prospect of being able to do so.
The competent authorities shall make that determination as soon as possible and at the latest 21 days after first becoming satisfied that a credit institution has failed to repay deposits which are due and payable; or
a judicial authority has made a ruling for reasons which are directly related to the credit institution's financial circumstances which has the effect of suspending depositors' ability to make claims against it, should that occur before the aforementioned determination has been made;
‘credit institution’ shall mean an undertaking the business of which is to receive deposits or other repayable funds from the public and to grant credits for its own account;
‘branch’ shall mean a place of business which forms a legally dependent part of a credit institution and which conducts directly all or some of the operations inherent in the business of credit institutions; any number of branches set up in the same Member State by a credit institution which has its head office in another Member State shall be regarded as a single branch.
The following shall be excluded from any repayment by guarantee schemes:
subject to Article 8 (3), deposits made by other credit institutions on their own behalf and for their own account,
all instruments which would fall within the definition of ‘own funds’ in Article 2 of Council Directive 89/299/EEC of 17 April 1989 on the own funds of credit institutions(2),
deposits arising out of transactions in connection with which there has been a criminal conviction for money laundering as defined in Article 1 of Council Directive 91/308/EEC of 10 June 1991 on prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering(3).
1.Each Member State shall ensure that within its territory one or more deposit-guarantee schemes are introduced and officially recognized. Except in the circumstances envisaged in the second subparagraph and in paragraph 4, no credit institution authorized in that Member State pursuant to Article 3 of Directive 77/780/EEC may take deposits unless it is a member of such a scheme.
A Member State may, however, exempt a credit institution from the obligation to belong to a deposit-guarantee scheme where that credit institution belongs to a system which protects the credit institution itself and in particular ensures its liquidity and solvency, thus guaranteeing protection for depositors at least equivalent to that provided by a deposit-guarantee scheme, and which, in the opinion of the competent authorities, fulfils the following conditions:
the system must be in existence and have been officially recognized when this Directive is adopted,
the system must be designed to prevent deposits with credit institutions belonging to the system from becoming unavailable and have the resources necessary for that purpose at its disposal,
the system must not consist of a guarantee granted to a credit institution by a Member State itself or by any of its local or regional authorities,
the system must ensure that depositors are informed in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down in Article 9.
Those Member States which make use of this option shall inform the Commission accordingly; in particular, they shall notify the Commission of the characteristics of any such protective systems and the credit institutions covered by them and of any subsequent changes in the information supplied. The Commission shall inform the Banking Advisory Committee thereof.
2.If a credit institution does not comply with the obligations incumbent on it as a member of a deposit-guarantee scheme, the competent authorities which issued its authorization shall be notified and, in collaboration with the guarantee scheme, shall take all appropriate measures including the imposition of sanctions to ensure that the credit institution complies with its obligations.
3.If those measures fail to secure compliance on the part of the credit institution, the scheme may, where national law permits the exclusion of a member, with the express consent of the competent authorities, give not less than 12 months' notice of its intention of excluding the credit institution from membership of the scheme. Deposits made before the expiry of the notice period shall continue to be fully covered by the scheme. If, on the expiry of the notice period, the credit institution has not complied with its obligations, the guarantee scheme may, again having obtained the express consent of the competent authorities, proceed to exclusion.
4.Where national law permits, and with the express consent of the competent authorities which issued its authorization, a credit institution excluded from a deposit-guarantee scheme may continue to take deposits if, before its exclusion, it has made alternative guarantee arrangements which ensure that depositors will enjoy a level and scope of protection at least equivalent to that offered by the officially recognized scheme.
5.If a credit institution the exclusion of which is proposed under paragraph 3 is unable to make alternative arrangements which comply with the conditions prescribed in paragraph 4, then the competent authorities which issued its authorization shall revoke it forthwith.
1.Deposit-guarantee schemes introduced and officially recognized in a Member State in accordance with Article 3 (1) shall cover the depositors at branches set up by credit institutions in other Member States.
Until 31 December 1999 neither the level nor the scope, including the percentage, of cover provided shall exceed the maximum level or scope of cover offered by the corresponding guarantee scheme within the territory of the host Member State.
Before that date, the Commission shall draw up a report on the basis of the experience acquired in applying the second subparagraph and shall consider the need to continue those arrangements. If appropriate, the Commission shall submit a proposal for a Directive to the European Parliament and the Council, with a view to the extension of their validity.
2.Where the level and/or scope, including the percentage, of cover offered by the host Member State guarantee scheme exceeds the level and/or scope of cover provided in the Member State in which a credit institution is authorized, the host Member State shall ensure that there is an officially recognized deposit-guarantee scheme within its territory which a branch may join voluntarily in order to supplement the guarantee which its depositors already enjoy by virtue of its membership of its home Member State scheme.
The scheme to be joined by the branch shall cover the category of institution to which it belongs or most closely corresponds in the host Member State.
3.Member States shall ensure that objective and generally applied conditions are established for branches' membership of a host Member State's scheme in accordance with paragraph 2. Admission shall be conditional on fulfilment of the relevant obligations of membership, including in particular payment of any contributions and other charges. Member States shall follow the guiding principles set out in Annex II in implementing this paragraph.
4.If a branch granted voluntary membership under paragraph 2 does not comply with the obligations incumbent on it as a member of a deposit-guarantee scheme, the competent authorities which issued the authorization shall be notified and, in collaboration with the guarantee scheme, shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the aforementioned obligations are complied with.
If those measures fail to secure the branch's compliance with the aforementioned obligations, after an appropriate period of notice of not less than 12 months the guarantee scheme may, with the consent of the competent authorities which issued the authorization, exclude the branch. Deposits made before the date of exclusion shall continue to be covered by the voluntary scheme until the dates on which they fall due. Depositors shall be informed of the withdrawal of the supplementary cover.
5.The Commission shall report on the operation of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 no later than 31 December 1999 and shall, if appropriate, propose amendments thereto.
Deposits held when the authorization of a credit institution authorized pursuant to Article 3 of Directive 77/780/EEC is withdrawn shall continue to be covered by the guarantee scheme.
1.Member States shall check that branches established by a credit institution which has its head office outwith the Community have cover equivalent to that prescribed in this Directive.
Failing that, Member States may, subject to Article 9 (1) of Directive 77/780/EEC, stipulate that branches established by a credit institution which has its head office outwith the Community must join deposit-guarantee schemes in operation within their territories.
2.Actual and intending depositors at branches established by a credit institution which has its head office outwith the Community shall be provided by the credit institution with all relevant information concerning the guarantee arrangements which cover their deposits.
3.The information referred to in paragraph 2 shall be made available in the official language or languages of the Member State in which a branch is established in the manner prescribed by national law and shall be drafted in a clear and comprehensible form.
1.Deposit-guarantee schemes shall stipulate that the aggregate deposits of each depositor must be covered up to ECU 20 000 in the event of deposits' being unavailable.
Until 31 December 1999 Member States in which, when this Directive is adopted, deposits are not covered up to ECU 20 000 may retain the maximum amount laid down in their guarantee schemes, provided that this amount is not less than ECU 15 000.
2.Member States may provide that certain depositors or deposits shall be excluded from guarantee or shall be granted a lower level of guarantee. Those exclusions are listed in Annex I.
3.This Article shall not preclude the retention or adoption of provisions which offer a higher or more comprehensive cover for deposits. In particular, deposit-guarantee schemes may, on social considerations, cover certain kinds of deposits in full.
4.Member States may limit the guarantee provided for in paragraph 1 or that referred to in paragraph 3 to a specified percentage of deposits. The percentage guaranteed must, however, be equal to or exceed 90 % of aggregate deposits until the amount to be paid under the guarantee reaches the amount referred to in paragraph 1.
5.The amount referred to in paragraph 1 shall be reviewed periodically by the Commission at least once every five years. If appropriate, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a proposal for a Directive to adjust the amount referred to in paragraph 1, taking account in particular of developments in the banking sector and the economic and monetary situation in the Community. The first review shall not take place until five years after the end of the period referred to in Article 7 (1), second subparagraph.
6.Member States shall ensure that the depositor's rights to compensation may be the subject of an action by the depositor against the deposit-guarantee scheme.
1.The limits referred to in Article 7 (1), (3) and (4) shall apply to the aggregate deposits placed with the same credit institution irrespective of the number of deposits, the currency and the location within the Community.
2.The share of each depositor in a joint account shall be taken into account in calculating the limits provided for in Article 7 (1), (3) and (4).
In the absence of special provisions, such an account shall be divided equally amongst the depositors.
Member States may provide that deposits in an account to which two or more persons are entitled as members of a business partnership, association or grouping of a similar nature, without legal personality, may be aggregated and treated as if made by a single depositor for the purpose of calculating the limits provided for in Article 7 (1), (3) and (4).
3.Where the depositor is not absolutely entitled to the sums held in an account, the person who is absolutely entitled shall be covered by the guarantee, provided that that person has been identified or is identifiable before the date on which the competent authorities make the determination described in Article 1 (3) (i) or the judicial authority makes the ruling described in Article 1 (3) (ii). If there are several persons who are absolutely entitled, the share of each under the arrangements subject to which the sums are managed shall be taken into account when the limits provided for in Article 7 (1), (3) and (4) are calculated.
This provision shall not apply to collective investment undertakings.
1.Member States shall ensure that credit institutions make available to actual and intending depositors the information necessary for the identification of the deposit-guarantee scheme of which the institution and its branches are members within the Community or any alternative arrangement provided for in Article 3 (1), second subparagraph, or Article 3 (4). The depositors shall be informed of the provisions of the deposit-guarantee scheme or any alternative arrangement applicable, including the amount and scope of the cover offered by the guarantee scheme. That information shall be made available in a readily comprehensible manner.
Information shall also be given on request on the conditions for compensation and the formalities which must be completed to obtain compensation.
2.The information provided for in paragraph 1 shall be made available in the manner prescribed by national law in the official language or languages of the Member State in which the branch is established.
3.Member States shall establish rules limiting the use in advertising of the information referred to in paragraph 1 in order to prevent such use from affecting the stability of the banking system or depositor confidence. In particular, Member States may restrict such advertising to a factual reference to the scheme to which a credit institution belongs.
1.Deposit-guarantee schemes shall be in a position to pay duly verified claims by depositors in respect of unavailable deposits within three months of the date on which the competent authorities make the determination described in Article 1 (3) (i) or the judicial authority makes the ruling described in Article 1 (3) (ii).
2.In wholly exceptional circumstances and in special cases a guarantee scheme may apply to the competent authorities for an extension of the time limit. No such extension shall exceed three months. The competent authorities may, at the request of the guarantee scheme, grant no more than two further extensions, neither of which shall exceed three months.
3.The time limit laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2 may not be invoked by a guarantee scheme in order to deny the benefit of guarantee to any depositor who has been unable to assert his claim to payment under a guarantee in time.
4.The documents relating to the conditions to be fulfilled and the formalities to be completed to be eligible for a payment under the guarantee referred to in paragraph 1 shall be drawn up in detail in the manner prescribed by national law in the official language or languages of the Member State in which the guaranteed deposit is located.
5.Notwithstanding the time limit laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2, where a depositor or any person entitled to or interested in sums held in an account has been charged with an offence arising out of or in relation to money laundering as defined in Article 1 of Directive 91/308/EEC, the guarantee scheme may suspend any payment pending the judgment of the court.
Without prejudice to any other rights which they may have under national law, schemes which make payments under guarantee shall have the right of subrogation to the rights of depositors in liquidation proceedings for an amount equal to their payments.
Notwithstanding Article 3, those institutions authorized in Spain or in Greece and listed in Annex III shall be exempt from the requirement to belong to a deposit-guarantee scheme until 31 December 1999.
Such credit institutions shall expressly alert their actual and intending depositors to the fact that they are not members of any deposit-guarantee scheme.
During that time, should any such credit institution establish or have established a branch in another Member State, that Member State may require that branch to belong to a deposit-guarantee scheme set up within its territory under conditions consonant with those prescribed in Article 4 (2), (3) and (4).
In the list of authorized credit institutions which it is required to draw up pursuant to Article 3 (7) of Directive 77/780/EEC the Commission shall indicate the status of each credit institution with regard to this Directive.
1.The Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary for them to comply with this Directive by 1 July 1995. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When the Member States adopt these measures they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by the Member States.
2.The Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.
This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 30 May 1994.
For the European Parliament
The President
E. Klepsch
For the Council
The President
G. Romeos