Capital subscription
Last updated on 1 January 2023
The capital of the ECB comes from the national central banks (NCBs) of all EU Member States and amounts to €10,825,007,069.61.
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 there is a change in the number of NCBs that contribute to the ECB’s capital. These NCBs are those whose countries are Member States of the EU. The adjustment is made on the basis of data provided by the European Commission. The latest adjustment took place on 1 February 2020 following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU.
Euro area national central banks
The fully paid-up subscriptions of euro area NCBs to the capital of the ECB amount to a total of €8,875,217,621.22 and break down as follows:
| National central bank | Capital key % (1) | Paid-up capital (€) |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Since the start of Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union on 1 January 1999 the capital key has changed eight times: a five-yearly update was made on 1 January 2004, on 1 January 2009, on 1 January 2014 and on 1 January 2019; 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), on 1 January 2007 (when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU), on 1 July 2013 (when Croatia joined the EU) and on 1 February 2020 (following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU). (2) Hrvatska narodna banka (HNB) became a member of the Eurosystem following the entry of Croatia into the euro area on 1 January 2023. Therefore, on that date HNB paid up the remainder of its subscribed capital to the ECB. (3) The increased subscriptions from euro area NCBs as a result of the Bank of England’s withdrawal from the European System of Central Banks (i.e. prior to the entry of Croatia into the euro area) were divided into two annual instalments (see ECB press release published on the ECB’s website on 30 January 2020). The first of these two instalments was paid on 29 December 2021, and the last one on 28 December 2022. |
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| Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique (Belgium) | 2.9630 | 320,744,959.47 |
| Deutsche Bundesbank (Germany) | 21.4394 | 2,320,816,565.68 |
| Eesti Pank (Estonia) | 0.2291 | 24,800,091.20 |
| Central Bank of Ireland (Ireland) | 1.3772 | 149,081,997.36 |
| Bank of Greece (Greece) | 2.0117 | 217,766,667.22 |
| Banco de España (Spain) | 9.6981 | 1,049,820,010.62 |
| Banque de France (France) | 16.6108 | 1,798,120,274.32 |
| Hrvatska narodna banka (Croatia) (2) | 0.6595 | 71,390,921.62 |
| Banca d'Italia (Italy) | 13.8165 | 1,495,637,101.77 |
| Central Bank of Cyprus (Cyprus) | 0.1750 | 18,943,762.37 |
| Latvijas Banka (Latvia) | 0.3169 | 34,304,447.40 |
| Lietuvos bankas (Lithuania) | 0.4707 | 50,953,308.28 |
| Banque centrale du Luxembourg (Luxembourg) | 0.2679 | 29,000,193.94 |
| Central Bank of Malta (Malta) | 0.0853 | 9,233,731.03 |
| De Nederlandsche Bank (The Netherlands) | 4.7662 | 515,941,486.95 |
| Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austria) | 2.3804 | 257,678,468.28 |
| Banco de Portugal (Portugal) | 1.9035 | 206,054,009.57 |
| Banka Slovenije (Slovenia) | 0.3916 | 42,390,727.68 |
| Národná banka Slovenska (Slovakia) | 0.9314 | 100,824,115.85 |
| Suomen Pankki – Finlands Bank (Finland) | 1.4939 | 161,714,780.61 |
| Total (3) | 81.9881 | 8,875,217,621.22 |
Non-euro area national central banks
The EU’s seven 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 €73,117,104.33 and breaks down as follows:
| National central bank | Capital key % | Paid-up capital (€) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (4) Owing to rounding, the total may not correspond to the sum of all figures shown. | ||||
| Българска народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank) (Bulgaria) | 0.9832 | 3,991,180.11 | ||
| Česká národní banka (Czech Republic) | 1.8794 | 7,629,194.36 | ||
| Danmarks Nationalbank (Denmark) | 1.7591 | 7,140,851.23 | ||
| Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Hungary) | 1.5488 | 6,287,164.11 | ||
| Narodowy Bank Polski (Poland) | 6.0335 | 24,492,255.06 | ||
| Banca Naţională a României (Romania) | 2.8289 | 11,483,573.44 | ||
| Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden) | 2.9790 | 12,092,886.02 | ||
| Total (4) | 18.0119 | 73,117,104.33 | ||
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.
Eurosystem capital key
The Eurosystem capital key is the capital key used, for example, to guide most purchases in some of the ECB’s purchase programmes because it includes only the euro area national central banks.
| Country | Eurosystem key 1 Jan 2023 | Eurosystem key 1 Feb 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| (5) Numbers may not add up owing to rounding. | ||
| Belgium | 3.6139 | 3.6432 |
| Bulgaria | ||
| Czech Republic | ||
| Denmark | ||
| Germany | 26.1494 | 26.3615 |
| Estonia | 0.2794 | 0.2817 |
| Ireland | 1.6798 | 1.6934 |
| Greece | 2.4536 | 2.4735 |
| Spain | 11.8287 | 11.9246 |
| France | 20.2600 | 20.4243 |
| Croatia | 0.8044 | |
| Italy | 16.8518 | 16.9885 |
| Cyprus | 0.2134 | 0.2152 |
| Latvia | 0.3865 | 0.3897 |
| Lithuania | 0.5741 | 0.5788 |
| Luxembourg | 0.3268 | 0.3294 |
| Hungary | ||
| Malta | 0.1040 | 0.1049 |
| Netherlands | 5.8133 | 5.8604 |
| Austria | 2.9033 | 2.9269 |
| Poland | ||
| Portugal | 2.3217 | 2.3405 |
| Romania | ||
| Slovenia | 0.4776 | 0.4815 |
| Slovakia | 1.1360 | 1.1452 |
| Finland | 1.8221 | 1.8369 |
| Sweden | ||
| Total (5) | 100.0000 | 100.0000 |
Allocation of net profits and losses of the ECB
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:
33.1. The net profit of the ECB shall be transferred in the following order:
- 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;
- 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.