Legal framework
Today, the Treaty regarding the European Union (with the Protocol on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the ECB) is applicable first and foremost, followed by the National Bank’s organic act and its own statutes, approved by Royal Decree. The normal statutory provisions regarding public limited liability companies are only applicable on a supplementary basis.
The legislator has thus granted the National Bank its own statutes and its own specific management bodies and rules. The governor and the directors of the National Bank are thus appointed by the King. Unlike other companies, the competence to approve the annual report regarding the transactions and accounts of the National Bank and to definitively arrange the distribution of profits does not lie with the general meeting of shareholders, but with the Council of Regency, the structure of which reflects Belgian society as a whole (it consists of people who are representative of social and economic life).
In view of the transfer of personal data to another public authority or private entity, the National Bank has concluded several protocols.