Annual Report 2004

sight at the beginning of 2004. These
statistics help monitor the development
and sound functioning of payment
systems on a regular basis. They
provide the OeNB with quarterly (or
monthly, as with systemically important
systems) data on payment system
infrastructure (including availability)
and sales.
Other key factors for the effective
functioning of financial markets are
safe and efficient securities settlement
systems. A joint working group
of the ESCB and the Committee of
European Securities Regulators
(CESR) was set up in October 2001
to support the establishment of such
systems at the EU level. The working
group, in which the OeNB and the
FMA participate, defined 19 standards
aimed at improving systemic
safety and efficiency. After extensive
consultations with market participants,
the group presented its final report
entitled Standards for Securities
Clearing and Settlement in the EU in
September 2004. The Governing
Council of the ECB and the CESR
chairpersons approved the report in
October 2004 and agreed to define
the measures necessary for implementing
the standards in the course
of 2005, and to start assessing the various
systems in 2006.
Close Cooperation
between OeNB and FMA
In the course of the past two and a
half years, the cooperation of the
OeNB and the FMA, which was establishedinApril2002,hasbeenintensified
and strengthened. In addition
to daily ÒroutineÓ meetings
(which result from the OeNBÕs significant
statutory role in prudential
supervision, e.g. in off-site monitoring
or in conducting on-site examinations),
the managers and heads of divisions
of the two institutions hold
The OeNB as a Competent Partner in
Ensuring Financial Stability
meetings on a regular basis to exchange
information and discuss both
general and specific topics. Joint
working groups are established whenever
necessary to deal with specific
supervision issues, thus pooling the
know-how of both institutions and coordinating
concerted action at an
early stage. The OeNB maintains
close contacts with the Austrian Federal
Ministry of Finance via the Financial
Market Committee, which was
established under Article 13 of the Financial
Market Authority Act; the Financial
Market Committee is a platform
for the cooperation and dialogue
between the three institutions
(Ministry of Finance, OeNB and
FMA) which are jointly responsible
for financial stability in Austria.
Supervisory cooperation was promoted
and institutionalized at an international
level as well. On January
1, 2004, the Committee of European
Banking Supervisors (CEBS) was set
up with representatives of the national
central banks and the banking
supervisory authorities of the EU
Member States and the other European
Economic Area (EEA) countries
(the latter are granted observer status).
CEBS functions as a level 3 committee
within the Lamfalussy framework.
It performs the following
tasks:
— advising the European Commission,
in particular in the preparation
of drafts of new implementation
measures;
— contributing to the consistent implementation
of EU directives and
sustaining converging supervisory
practices in the EU Member
States; and
— promoting supervisory cooperation
and information exchange.
CEBS carried out no less than three
public consultations on various issues
in the first year of its existence. In
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