Statute of the Bank
The regime that governs the operation of the Bank of Greece is laid down in its Statute. The Statute of the Bank of Greece was ratified by Law 3424/7 December 1927 (Government Gazette A 298) ratifying the Legislative Decree of 10 November 1927 re: "Ratification of the agreement dated 27 October 1927, regarding waiver by the National Bank of Greece of its privilege of issuing banknotes and establishment of a new bank under the name "BANK OF GREECE", and the Statute of the Bank of Greece annexed thereto". Article 1 paragraph b of the Legislative Decree of 10 November 1927 explicitly states that the provisions of the Statute have the force of law.
Since then, the Statute of the Bank of Greece has been repeatedly amended. The most substantial amendments were approved by the decisions of the General Meeting of Shareholders of the Bank of Greece on 22.12.1997 and 25.4.2000, ratified by Laws 2609/1998 and 2832/2000 respectively. By those amendments the operational framework of the central bank was modernised and brought in line with the provisions of the Treaty on European Union and the Statute of the European System of Central Banks.
More specifically the Statute, as amended:
- explicitly states that the Bank' s primary objective is price stability;
- safeguards the Bank' s independence towards the government or any organisation and its accointability to Parliament;
- recognizes the Bank' s legal integration into the European System of Central Banks
Moreover, the Statute provides that, as from the adoption of the euro as the currency of Greece, the Bank of Greece, is pursuing its primary objective and in exercising its main tasks, shall be an integral part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and shall act in accordance with the guidelines and instructions of the European Central Bank (ECB).
Statute of the Bank
Amendments to the 9th Edition (2000) of the Statute of the Bank of Greece until May 2009