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II Acts whose publication is not obligatory

Commission

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            COMMISSION DECISION         

of 8 March 2005         

releasing the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland from the obligation to apply to certain species Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 68/193/EEC, 1999/105/EC and 2002/57/EC on the marketing of fodder plant seed, cereal seed, material for the vegetative propagation of the vine, forest reproductive material and seed of oil and fibre plants respectively

(notified under document number C(2005) 525)

(Only the Czech, Estonian, Greek, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese and Polish texts are authentic)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2005/325/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of fodder plant seed (1), and in particular Article 23a thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of cereal seed (2), and in particular Article 23a thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 68/193/EEC of 9 April 1968 on the marketing of material for the vegetative propagation of the vine (3), and in particular Article 18a thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 1999/105/EC of 22 December 1999 on the marketing of forest reproductive material (4), and in particular Article 20 thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 2002/57/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre plants (5), and in particular Article 28 thereof,

Having regard to the requests submitted by the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1.   The Member States set out in Part I of the Annex to this Decision are hereby released from the obligation to apply Directive 66/401/EEC, with the exception of Article 14(1), to the species listed in the first column of the table.

2.   The Member States set out in Part II of the Annex to this Decision are hereby released from the obligation to apply Directive 66/402/EEC, with the exception of Article 14(1) and, in the case of Latvia also with the exception of Article 19(1) in respect of maize, to the species listed in the first column of the table.

3.   The Member States set out in Part III of the Annex to this Decision are hereby released from the obligation to apply Directive 68/193/EEC, with the exception of Articles 12 and 12(a), to the species listed in the first column of the table.

4.   The Member States set out in Part IV of the Annex to this Decision are hereby released from the obligation to apply Directive 1999/105/EC, with the exception of Article 17(1), to the species listed in the first column of the table.

5.   The Member States set out in Part V of the Annex to this Decision are hereby released from the obligation to apply Directive 2002/57/EC, with the exception of Article 17, and in the case of Malta also with the exception of Article 9(1) in respect of sunflower to the species listed in the first column of the table.

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Malta and the Republic of Poland.

Done at Brussels, 8 March 2005.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU            

Member of the Commission

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(1)OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2298/66. Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/117/EC (OJ L 14, 18.1.2005, p. 18).

(2)OJ 125, 11.7.1966, p. 2309/66. Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/117/EC.

(3)OJ L 93, 17.4.1968, p. 15. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1).

(4)OJ L 11, 15.1.2000, p. 17.

(5)OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 74. Directive as last amended by Directive 2003/61/EC (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, p. 23).

(6)OJ L 328, 17.12.2003, p. 21. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1766/2004 (OJ L 315, 14.10.2004, p. 27).

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ANNEX

Legend

Abbreviations

An X appears under the heading for each Member State released.

Part I — Directive 66/401/EEC

Part II — Directive 66/402/EEC

Part III — Directive 68/193/EEC

Part IV — Directive 1999/105/EC

Part V — Directive 2002/57/EC

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European Central Bank

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            GUIDELINE OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK         

of 15 February 2005         

amending Guideline ECB/2003/2 concerning certain statistical reporting requirements of the European Central Bank and the procedures for reporting by the national central banks of statistical information in the field of money and banking statistics

(ECB/2005/4)

(2005/326/EC)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular to Article 5.1, Article 12.1 and Article 14.3 thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS GUIDELINE:

Article 1

Guideline ECB/2003/2 is amended as follows:

Article 2

This Guideline shall enter into force on 17 February 2005.

Article 3

This Guideline is addressed to the NCBs of the Member States that have adopted the single currency in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 15 February 2005.

For the Governing Council of the ECB

The President of the ECB

Jean-Claude TRICHET            

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(1)OJ L 241, 26.9.2003, p. 1. Guideline as amended by Guideline ECB/2004/1 (OJ L 83, 20.3.2004, p. 29).

(2)OJ L 333, 17.12.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation ECB/2004/21 (OJ L 371, 18.12.2004, p. 42.

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ANNEX I

Annexes I, II, V, VII, X, XV, XVI, XIX and XX to Guideline ECB/2003/2 are amended as follows:

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(1)  A full description of the elementary balance sheet data is to be found in Part III of Annex I to Regulation ECB/2001/13.

(2)OJ L 58, 3.3.2003, p. 1.’         

(3)  On the significance of the impact of MMFs on other MFIs data, see below. In addition, in some countries there are a small number of other institutions classified as MFIs; however, these institutions are insignificant from a quantitative perspective.

(4)  For instance, this criterion is met when the MMF sector balance sheet has an impact on one liability item (MMF shares/units) and on two or more asset items (e.g. “securities other than shares denominated in euro issued by domestic general government” and “securities other than shares denominated in euro issued by domestic MFIs”). It is also met when the MMF balance sheet has an impact on two liability items (e.g. “MMF shares/units” and “deposits denominated in euro placed by domestic MFIs”) and on one asset item (e.g. securities other than shares denominated in euro issued by domestic general government). On the contrary, this criterion is not met when the MMF balance sheet has an impact on only one liability item and one asset item.’         

(7)  Nevertheless, it is recognised that write-offs associated with transactions are not always reported, which implies a deviation from this principle that is accepted in Regulation ECB/2001/13 and the guidance notes thereto.

(7a)  The rules relating to the statistical valuation of loans and deposits are contained in Annex I, Part 1, Section III, paragraphs 15 and 16 (monthly data) and Annex I, Part 1, Section IV, paragraph 10 (quarterly data) to Regulation ECB/2001/13.’         

(14)  No adjustment is made for balances denominated in the remaining currencies. Data on USD, JPY and CHF were reported according to Table 5 of Regulation ECB/1998/16 of 1 December 1998 concerning the consolidated balance sheet of the monetary financial institutions sector (OJ L 356, 30.12.1998, p. 7), as from December 1998 and on a voluntary basis by NCBs using other national data sources as from September 1997. Data on GBP were reported to the ECB by NCBs on a voluntary basis as from August 2001, where possible including back data, with a similar structure as the reporting of other currencies in Table 4 of Regulation ECB/2001/13 and as from January 2003 as part of Table 4 of Regulation ECB/2001/13. The ECB will calculate the foreign exchange adjustment for the remaining currencies of non-participating EU member states as well.’         

(5)  The NCBs use the quarterly reserve base data from the credit institutions in the tail for the monthly figures reported to the ECB in the three data transmissions following their release.’         

(3)  The correct reporting of non-applicable BSIs is outlined in Annex XIII.’         

(2)  Defined in Section 3.

(3)  The reporting by the BIS is included in this Guideline wherever needed for reasons of completeness and clarity. This Guideline is, however, not addressed to the BIS.’         

(48)  For NCBs the country of residence of the issuing sector is the country of residence of the NCB.’         

(49)  This is consistent with balance sheet statistics.’         

(5)  The four objects observation value plus OBS_STATUS, OBS_CONF and OBS_PRE_BREAK are treated as one entity. This means that NCBs are obliged to send all complementary information for an observation. (When attributes are not reported, their previous values are overwritten by default values.)

(6)  When, owing to local market practices or to the legal framework, a time series (or part of it) is not applicable (the underlying phenomenon does not exist), a missing value is reported (“—”) with observation status “M”. A missing observation should never be reported as a “zero”, since zero is a normal numeric value that indicates a precise interest rate or business volume of null amount.

(7)  These observations take definite values (observation status “A”) at a later stage. The new revised values overwrite the previous provisional observations.’         ’

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(5)  Other EU Member States currencies (excluding DKK, SEK, GBP) are included under this column.’         

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ANNEX II

"ANNEX VI

STRUCTURAL FINANCIAL INDICATORS

REPORTING SCHEME AND COMPILATION INSTRUCTIONS

Introduction

Section 1. Reporting scheme

Section 2. Compilation instructions

Appendix 1

Reporting scheme for the 14 structural financial indicators compiled using data provided by NCBs

Country: ...

Reference year: ...

Appendix 2

Electronic transmission of banking structural financial indicators — key family identifier: ECB_SSI1

The structural financial indicators key family refers to the structural indicators of credit institutions (CIs), insurance companies and pension funds sectors of the European Union (EU) Member States. It has been designed so as to draw as much as possible on the key family code lists and values already defined for balance sheet items (BSI) statistics.

Section 1. Dimensions

The table below describes the dimensions used in the ECB_SSI1 key family. For these statistics, eight dimensions have been specified as essential to identify the time series.

TABLE 1

Dimensions used in ECB_SSI1 key family

Each of the eight statistical dimensions takes its values from a corresponding code list. For example, according to the table above, the dimension REF_AREA (reference area) takes its values from the CL_AREA_EE code list. A description of the dimensions of the ECB_SSI1 key family is set out below, following the same sequence as they appear in the key.

Dimension No 1: Frequency (FREQ; length: one character)

This dimension indicates the frequency of the reported time series. The value used in the ECB_SSI1 key family is “A” for annual data and is taken from the code list CL_FREQ.

Dimension No 2: Reference area (REF_AREA; length: two characters)

This dimension represents the country of residence of the reporting institution. The associated code list CL_AREA_EE contains the standard ISO country list and some additional values as also described in paragraph 6 (dimension No 6: Counterparty area). The subset of values used in the ECB_SSI1 key family corresponds to the EU Member States.

Dimension No 3: ESA 95 Reference sectoral breakdown (REF_SECTOR; length: four characters)

This dimension indicates the structural indicators’ reference sector and is linked to the code list CL_ESA95_SECTOR. Currently a subset of four values is used: credit institutions (as defined in Community law) (“                                 122C                                 ”), insurance corporation and pension funds (1250), and separately insurance corporations (“                                 1251                                 ”) and pension funds (“                                 1252                                 ”).

Dimension No 4: Structural financial indicator’s “name” (SSI_INDICATOR; length: three characters)

This dimension represents the list of indicators and is linked to the code list CL_SSI_INDICATOR. The values assigned to the different indicators are identified by a prefix. The value “H” is used for the Herfindhal index, the value “N” for all indicators represented by absolute numbers, the value “S” for those represented by a share and lastly the value “T” for total assets.

Dimension No 5: Data type (DATA_TYPE; length: one character)

The dimension is described by the code list CL_DATA_TYPE and indicates the type of data to be reported: gross stocks (“1”), reclassifications and other adjustments (“5”), other revaluation adjustments (“7”) and not specified (“X”). The value “X”, not specified, is used to report ratios and index series, while the value “1”, stocks, is used to report absolute numbers and stocks series (e.g. number of employees; total assets).

Adjustments data are only applicable with reference to the BSI series, they are not applicable and are not reported for absolute numbers, ratios and indexes.

Reclassifications and other adjustments comprise changes in the assets and liabilities on the balance sheet of the reporting sector arising from 1. changes in the reporting population; 2. corporate restructuring; 3. the reclassification of assets and liabilities; and 4. the correction of reporting errors which, for technical reasons, cannot be removed from the stock data for the complete relevant period. In particular, reclassifications for the year 2001 will need to cover the changes due to the entry of Greece into the euro area.

Other revaluation adjustments include changes in the price of securities issued, sold or held and changes due to the removal from the balance sheet of loans subject to a write-off/write-down.

Dimension No 6: Counterparty area (COUNT_AREA; length: two characters)

This dimension represents the area of residence of the counterparty of the structural indicator. The code list linked to this concept is CL_AREA_EE, which contains the standard ISO country list and additional values (e.g. “U6” — “Domestic: same country as that of the reporting CIs”). For the purpose of the ECB_SSI1 key family the following subset of values is used: domestic (home or reference area) (“U6”), other European Economic Area countries (all countries excluding the reference area) (“A0”) and extra European Economic Area (“A7”) in the case of both euro area reporters and non-euro area reporters.

Dimension No 7: Currency of transaction (CURRENCY_TRANS; length: three characters)

This dimension describes the currency in which the structural indicators are denominated and is linked to the code list CL_CURRENCY. In the ECB_SSI1 key family only the values “Z01” for all currencies combined and “Z0Z” for not applicable are used.

Dimension No 8: Denomination of the series or special calculation (SERIES_DENOM; length: one character)

This dimension specifies whether the reported series is expressed in national or in the common (euro) currency. This concept is only applicable to BSI series (e.g. total assets). Only three values from the code list CL_SERIES_DENOM are used in the ECB_SSI1 key family — “N” national currency, “E” euro and “Z” not applicable. Non-participating Member States and Greece (for the period up to and including the year 2000) will use the code “N”, while the code “E” will be used by the euro area Member States (including Greece starting in 2001).

The full list of series keys to be transmitted to the ECB is reported in Appendix 3.

Section 2. The attributes

In addition to the eight dimensions defining the key, a set of attributes has been defined (8 13). These are attached at various levels of the exchanged information:

TABLE 2

Structural financial indicators key family (ECB_SSI1): Coded and uncoded attributes

In addition, each of these attributes is characterised by some technical properties, which are listed in the table below.

TABLE 3

NCBs reporting to the ECB. Common attribute properties for the ECB_SSI1 key family

Below is a description of each attribute including the reference code list (indicated in capital letters as CL_****) whenever it applies.

Section 2.1. Attributes at sibling level

Mandatory:

Conditional:

Section 2.2. Attributes at time series level

Mandatory:

Conditional:

Section 2.3. Attributes at observation level

Mandatory:

Conditional:

Flows adjustments data are to be reported, if available, in respect of indicators Nos 17, 19, 21, 24 and 26. Flows adjustments refer to price revaluations, write-offs, write-downs and reclassifications.

Section 3. Revision policy

NCBs may have to revise the reported data. The following general principles apply:

Appendix 3

TABLE 1

Stocks data

Series keys for structural financial indicators

TABLE 2

Adjustments data

Series keys for structural financial indicators

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(1)  This variable is also collected by Eurostat but with a long delay. Eurostat uses the following definition of local unit: “An enterprise or part thereof (e.g. a workshop, factory, warehouse, office, mine or depot) situated in a geographically identified place. At or from this place economic activity is carried out for which — save certain exceptions — one or more persons work (even if only part-time) for one and the same enterprise.” Cf. Eurostat, Methodological manual for statistics on credit institutions, version 1.8, December 2001, pp. 11 and 23. This manual is available on request from Eurostat, although only in English.

(2)  This indicator is also collected by Eurostat, which uses the following definition: “The number of persons employed is defined as the total number of persons who work in the observation unit (inclusive of working proprietors, partners working regularly in the unit and unpaid family workers), as well as persons who work outside the unit who belong to it and are paid by it (e.g. sales representatives, delivery personnel, repair and maintenance teams). It includes persons absent for a short period (e.g. sick leave, paid leave or special leave), and also those on strike, but not those absent for an indefinite period. It also includes part-time workers who are regarded as such under the laws of the country concerned and who are on the pay-roll, as well as seasonal workers, apprentices and home workers on the pay-roll. The number of persons employed excludes manpower supplied to the unit by other enterprises, persons carrying out repair and maintenance work in the enquiry unit on behalf of other enterprises, as well as those on compulsory military service. Unpaid family workers refer to persons who live with the proprietor of the unit and work regularly for the unit, but do not have a contract of service and do not receive a fixed sum for the work they perform. This is limited to those persons who are not included on the payroll of another unit as their principal occupation. Note: In order to check the comparability of data, it is necessary to indicate whether voluntary workers have been included under this heading or not. (Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2700/98 concerning the definitions of characteristics for structural business statistics, Code 16110). Comments: The allocation on enterprise level has to be assured by means of a distribution key in the case of enterprise groups (managing directors have to be included; not employed agents have to be excluded). The number of persons employed is measured as an annual average.” Cf. Eurostat, Methodological manual for statistics on credit institutions, version 1.8, December 2001, p. 34.

(3)  One exception, however, is permitted under Regulation ECB/2001/13, which permits reporting of consolidated balance sheet data for groups of credit institutions (e.g. the case of the Rabobank in the Netherlands).

(4)  For this indicator, the corresponding ESA 95 sector is S. 125a. The “ESA 95” is the European System of Accounts 1995, contained in Annex A to Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1).

(5)OJ L 228, 16.8.1973, p. 3. Directive as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession.

(6)OJ L 63, 13.3.1979, p. 1. Directive as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession.

(7)  For this indicator, the corresponding ESA 95 sector is S. 125b.

(8)  Attributes are statistical concepts which provide additional coded (e.g. the unit) and uncoded (e.g. the compilation method) information about the exchanged data. “Mandatory” applies to the attributes for which all partners know the values. “Conditional” applies to the attributes which are defined only if they are known in the reporting institution (e.g. domestic series ids) or whenever they are relevant (e.g. compilation, breaks). Attribute values are to be exchanged only when they are set for the first time and whenever they change. Only the observation status is present in every interchange, attached to each observation.

(**)  Changes are to be communicated to the responsible ECB business area by fax/e-mail.

(9)  ECB refers to the ECB Directorate-General Statistics.

(10)  When, due to local market practices or to the legal framework, a time series (or part of it) is not applicable (the underlying phenomenon does not exist), a missing value is reported (“-”) with observation status “M”.

(11)  When, due to local statistical conditions, data for a time series are not collected either on specific dates or for the total length of the time series (the underlying economic phenomenon exists but is not monitored statistically), a missing value is reported (“-”) with observation status “L” in each period.

(12)  These observations take definite values (observation status “A”) at a later stage. The new revised values overwrite the previous provisional observations.

(13)  For pre-ins and Greece before 2001, the code N is used for the “currency of denomination” in the last dimension of the series key instead of E.

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ANNEX III

                     ‘ANNEX IX

MEMORANDUM ITEMS TO BE PROVIDED

Reporting scheme

I.   Memorandum items for the derivation and assessment of the monetary aggregates and counterparts

3.   Currency in circulation, of which euro banknotes, national denomination banknotes, coins, coins denominated in euro and coins in national denomination (M1 to M5)

4.   Holders of negotiable securities issued by the European Central Bank (ECB)/NCBs (M6 to M8)

Debt securities issued by the ECB/NCBs that have been broken down by residency of the holder, according to the following three-way split: domestic/other participating Member States/rest of the world.

5.   Accruals on deposits (M9, M38)

Interest payable on deposits recorded as it accrues (i.e. on an accruals basis) rather than when it is actually paid (i.e. on a cash basis).

6.   Accruals on loans (M38, M42)

Interest receivable on loans recorded as it accrues (i.e. on an accruals basis) rather than when it is actually received (i.e. on a cash basis).

TABLE A

ECB/NCBs data (stocks) (1)

TABLE B

Other MFIs data (stocks) (4)

7.   Remaining assets/liabilities, of which intra-Eurosystem liabilities (item M13)/claims (item M18) related to the allocation of euro banknotes

Net positions vis-à-vis the Eurosystem originated by 1. distribution of euro banknotes issued by the ECB (8 % of total issues); and 2. application of the capital share mechanism. The allocation of the individual NCB’s and ECB’s net credit or debit position to either the asset or liability side of the balance sheet is done according to the sign, i.e. a positive net position vis-à-vis the Eurosystem will be reported on the asset side, a negative net position on the liability side.

8.   Holders of negotiable securities issued by other MFIs with a breakdown by maturity (items M19 to M21 and M28 to M30) and further by currency (items M22 to M27 and M31 to M36)

Debt securities and money market paper issued by MFIs that have been broken down by residency of the holder according to the following three-way split: domestic/other participating Member States/rest of the world. Debt securities and money market paper data are provided with a breakdown by maturity (up to one year, over one year and up to two years) and further details by currency (euro, foreign currencies).

II.   Memorandum items to derive weighting information for MFI interest rate statistics

TABLE C

Other MFIs data (stocks)

III.   Memorandum items to compile MUFA

TABLE D

Quarterly data: NCBs/ECB/Other MFIs data (stocks)

17.   Net equity of households in pension funds reserves (M70)

Liabilities of MFIs with households in the form of technical provisions established to provide pensions for employees. This typically refers to employee pension funds that have not been externalised to an independent institution.

18.   Securities other than shares

Breakdowns by sector and maturity not contained in Regulation ECB/2001/13 are required. This includes holdings of securities other than shares with a maturity of up to 1 year issued by central government (Domestic M71, M74, other participating Member States M72, M75) and the rest of the world (M73, M76), and securities other than shares with a maturity of over one year issued by central government (Domestic M77, M80, other participating Member States M78, M81) and the rest of the world (M79, M82).

19.   Shares and other equity

Separate information, with a breakdown by residency, in respect of quoted shares and investment fund shares other than money market fund shares. Quoted shares (M83 to M85) are shares with prices quoted on a recognised stock exchange or other form of secondary market. Investment fund shares (M86 to M88), also called mutual fund shares, are shares issued in the context of an organised financial arrangement that pools investor funds for the purpose of acquiring financial or non-financial assets, excluding those included in the MFI sector.

20.   Prepayment of insurance premiums and reserves for outstanding claims (M89)

This item represents the part of gross premiums paid by MFIs which is to be allocated to the following accounting period plus claims by MFIs that are not yet settled.’                     

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(1)  Subject to bilateral agreement between the ECB and the NCB, flow data may be provided.

(2)  To be reported if available.

(3)  To be reported if available.

(4)  Subject to bilateral agreement between the ECB and the NCB, flow data may be provided.

(5)  According to Regulation ECB/2001/18.

(6)  See Regulation ECB/2001/18, Annex II, Appendix 1: indicators 6 to 14.

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ANNEX IV

                     ‘ANNEX XIII

REPORTING STANDARDS FOR THE ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE OF STATISTICAL DATA

ECB BALANCE SHEET ITEMS STATISTICS

KEY FAMILY IDENTIFIER: ECB_BSI1

MFI balance sheet statistics for the purpose of the production of the consolidated balance sheet

1.   The ECB_BSI1 key family and corresponding code lists

The balance sheet items (BSI) key family refers to euro area harmonised balance sheet statistics reported by the monetary financial institution (MFI) sector to the European Central Bank (ECB). Data from individual MFIs (except national central banks (NCBs)) on BSIs are collected and aggregated at the national level by NCBs. The NCBs and the ECB also compute their own BSIs statistics. The BSIs statistics of the NCBs/the ECB and those of other MFIs (hereinafter OMFIs) are reported separately on a gross basis by NCBs to the ECB which, in turn, first builds the country-by-country aggregated balance sheet of the MFI sector and then the euro area consolidated balance sheet of the MFI sector (1) and the relevant euro area monetary aggregates (2).

Consolidated monthly data on the MFI sector balance sheet are used by the ECB to compile euro area monetary aggregates and counterparts. Further breakdowns of key BSIs are reported on a quarterly basis as an additional piece of information to support the monetary analysis.

The dimensions and attributes identified for the BSI key family are described in detail below.

For BSI statistics, 11 dimensions are specified as being essential in order to identify the time series (3):

TABLE 1

BSI key family (ECB_BSI1): Series dimensions

These dimensions are statistical concepts that take their values from code lists. In some rare cases the description of the coded values in the code lists may not correspond exactly to the agreed wording of Regulation ECB/2001/13. This is the case when a code list, or a subset of its values, is an internationally agreed list which already exists (e.g. the residence of the counterparty).

The same key family enables representation of a supplementary set of data requested for the compilation of the euro area monetary aggregates: the central government assets and (close substitutes of) deposit liabilities, presented in Annex VII.

2.   Dimensions

A description of the dimensions of the BSI key family is set out below, following the same sequence in which they appear in the series key. Information is also given concerning the length (value format, indicating the number of characters) of each dimension and the reference code list (indicated in capital letters as CL_****). For example, according to Table 1, the dimension REF_AREA (reference area) takes its values from the CL_AREA_EE code list.

2.1.   Dimension No 1: Frequency (FREQ; length: one character)

This dimension indicates the frequency of the reported series. The code list used is CL_FREQ. The code values used in the BSI key family are “M” for monthly data and “Q” for quarterly data, and they are a subset of the values specified in this code list.

2.2.   Dimension No 2: Reference area (REF_AREA; length: two characters)

This dimension represents the country of residence of the reporting institutions (MFIs). The associated code list CL_AREA_EE contains the standard ISO country list and also some additional code values as described in Section 2.8 (dimension No 8: Counterparty area). Only a subset of its values is used to define the reference area in the BSI key family.

2.3.   Dimension No 3: Adjustment indicator (ADJUSTMENT; length: one character)

This dimension indicates whether a seasonal adjustment and/or a working day adjustment have been applied. The corresponding code list is CL_ADJUSTMENT. The code values currently used in the BSI key family are “N” for neither seasonally nor working day adjusted and “Y” for working day and seasonally adjusted.

2.4.   Dimension No 4: Balance sheet reference sector breakdown (BS_REP_SECTOR; length: one character)

This dimension indicates the reporting sector and is linked to the code list CL_BS_REP_SECTOR. In this code list MFIs are divided into NCBs/ECB (“N”) and OMFIs (credit institutions, money market funds and other institutions) (“A”), in consideration of the separate balance sheets which the ECB consolidates.

In consideration of the request for data on deposit liabilities and assets of the central government, the code value “G” for central government is used.

Other code values are also included in this code list for the purpose of calculating and disseminating euro area monetary aggregates series by the ECB.

2.5.   Dimension No 5: Balance sheet item (BS_ITEM; length: three characters)

This dimension represents the BSI of the MFI balance sheet as defined in Regulation ECB/2001/13, and takes its values from the code list CL_BS_ITEM. This is the core dimension of the BSI key family. Code values of assets and liabilities are identified by the prefix “A” or “L” and, also in this case, the values are organised and coded following, wherever possible, a hierarchical relation among the items. Additional BSIs specific to NCBs (and the ECB) are identified by the letter “C”, after the prefix “A” for assets and after the prefix “L” for liabilities.

2.6.   Dimension No 6: Original maturity (MATURITY_ORIG; length: one character)

This dimension represents the original maturity of the BSI in the MFI balance sheet and is linked to the code list CL_MATURITY_ORIG.

2.7.   Dimension No 7: Data type (DATA_TYPE; length: one character)

The dimension is described by the code list CL_DATA_TYPE and indicates the type of data to be reported: outstanding amounts at the end of the period (stocks) (“1”), reclassifications and other adjustments (“5”), exchange rate changes (“6”) (4) and other adjustments (“7”) (other revaluations and loan write-off/write-down). Other code values have been defined to allow for the derivation of flows from the stocks and the appropriate adjustments and for the calculation of the index of notional stocks used for the derivation of annual growth rates. These additional code values are used by the ECB for the dissemination of the euro area aggregates.

2.8.   Dimension No 8: Counterparty area (COUNT_AREA; length: two characters)

This dimension represents the area of residence of the counterparty of the MFI BSI. The code list associated with this concept is CL_AREA_EE, which contains the standard ISO country list and additional code values used specifically for the euro area (e.g. U6 — “domestic” — used when the counterparty area is the same country as the reporting MFI). For the BSI statistics a subset of code values is used: the European Union (EU) Member States codes plus some additional area codes.

2.9.   Dimension No 9: Balance sheet counterparty sector (BS_COUNT_SECTOR; length: four characters)

This dimension represents the sectoral breakdown of the counterparty of BSIs and is linked to the code list CL_BS_COUNT_SECT. This code list is taken strictly from the sectoral breakdown requirement for BSIs set out in the first place in Regulation ECB/1998/16 of 1 December 1998 concerning the consolidated balance sheet of the monetary financial institutions sector and then in Regulation ECB/2001/13. The values are organised and coded according to the hierarchical structure of the sectors with the aim of being user oriented and providing a tool for easy administration of the data.

For Tables 2 and 4 of Annex I to Regulation ECB/2001/13, the split “banks”/“non-banks”, when applied to counterparties resident in non-participating Member States, corresponds to the breakdown “MFIs”/“non-MFIs”, as specified in the said Regulation. In Table 3 the split “MFIs”/“non-MFIs” is used instead to classify counterparties resident in non-participating Member States.

2.10.   Dimension No 10: Currency of transaction (CURRENCY_TRANS; length: three characters)

This dimension describes the currency in which the MFI BSIs are denominated and is linked to the code list CL_CURRENCY. For MFI BSIs a subset of code values is used.

2.11.   Dimension No 11: Currency of denomination of the series (BS_SUFFIX; length: up to three characters)

This dimension specifies whether the reported series is expressed in national or in the common (euro) currency. It has two values (“N”, national and “E”, euro) that are represented by the code list CL_BS_SUFFIX. This dimension is critical to differentiate the series representing the same economic phenomenon which are reported in the different stages of economic and monetary union (EMU). For example, for the EU countries that are not members of the EMU, data are reported in the national currency. As from the time they join the EMU, the same BSI series will be expressed and reported in euro.

3.   The attributes

In addition to the 11 dimensions defining the key, a set of attributes has been defined (5). These are attached at various levels of the exchanged information. Table 2 reports the list of coded and uncoded attributes defined for the BSI statistics key family, together with their level of assignment, the format and the code lists from which the values of the coded attributes are taken.

Furthermore, each of these attributes is characterised by certain technical properties, which are listed in Table 3.

TABLE 2

Coded and uncoded attributes defined for the ECB_BSI1 key family

TABLE 3

Common attributes properties for the ECB_BSI1 key family: Euro area NCBs reporting to the ECB

Paragraphs 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 present a description of each attribute, the reference code list (indicated in capital letters as CL_****) is included whenever it applies.

3.1.   Attributes at sibling level

Mandatory:

Conditional:

3.2.   Attributes at time series level

Mandatory:

Conditional:

3.3.   Attributes at observation level (8)

Mandatory:

In normal circumstances, numeric values should be reported with the observation status “A” (normal value) attached. Otherwise, a value different from “A” is given according to the list shown above (12).

If an observation is qualified by two characteristics, the most important is reported.

If, for example, an observation is both an estimate and a provisional value, according to the hierarchy shown above, priority is given to the estimate property and the flag “E” is used.

Conditional:

4.   Missing values and provisional values

Missing values (“-”) are reported when it is not possible to report a numeric value (e.g. owing to holidays, non-existent data or because data were not collected). Moreover, it is possible to differentiate between cases of missing values due to the lack of statistical collection on the phenomenon and those due to the fact that the phenomenon does not exist.

A missing observation should never be reported as a “zero”, since zero is a normal numeric value that indicates a precise transaction of null amount.

If NCBs are unable to identify the exact reason for a missing value or if they cannot use the whole range of values presented in the CL_OBS_STATUS code list (so that they are not in a position to choose between “L” or “M” as a value for this attribute), the value “M” should be used (13).

Provisional values can be reported with each data transmission but only with reference to the last observation available (observation status = “P”). These observations can take definite values (observation status = “A”) at a later stage. At that time the new revised values overwrite the previous provisional observations and no record of the revision is stored in the ECB database.

5.   Statistical requirements

According to Regulation ECB/2001/13, the NCBs report to the ECB monthly statistical information on the balance sheet of the OMFIs and the NCB sectors separately identified, for the purpose of the regular production of the consolidated balance sheet of the MFI sector. These requirements cover end-month stocks and monthly flow adjustments data. Further details on certain items of the OMFIs and NCB balance sheet are reported with a quarterly frequency in terms of stock data.

Furthermore, this Guideline indicates some additional data requirements for the purpose of the regular production of euro area monetary aggregates.

The ECB maintains and distributes to the NCBs tables containing lists of BSI time series to be exchanged with reference to the requirements set out in Regulation ECB/2001/13, and in accordance with this Guideline. The following sets of series are reported by the NCBs to the ECB.

5.1.   Stock data

5.2.   Adjustments data

As stated in Regulation ECB/2001/13, additional statistical information is required to derive flows statistics, and in particular data on write-offs/write-downs of loans and on price revaluations of securities are reported with a monthly frequency by the NCBs to the ECB. Furthermore, this Guideline sets out additional data requirements for monthly and quarterly reclassification adjustment series and for revaluation adjustment series to be reported by the NCBs to the ECB.

6.   Data reporting

All statistical returns contain the amount of data specified in the relevant tables included in Regulation ECB/2001/13, or in this Guideline irrespective of the actual existence of the underlying phenomenon, with the exception of memorandum items series. This means that if a time series is not applicable it is still reported (in all data transmissions) and the values indicate missing data (“-”), as described in Section 4. For example “currency in circulation” for “OMFIs” reporting must be supplied with numeric values or “-”, as appropriate. The only exception is where a whole sector does not exist in which case no data need to be provided for this sector (i.e. central government series).

6.1.   Timeliness

The NCBs report to the ECB the monthly balance sheet stock and adjustments data of the OMFI and the NCBs/ECB sectors, separately identified, by close of business on the fifteenth working day following the end of the month to which the data relate. Quarterly statistics are transmitted by the NCBs to the ECB by close of business on the twenty-eighth working day following the end of the month to which they relate.

6.2.   Specific data reporting issues

From quarterly reporting to monthly reporting

One of the changes introduced by Regulation ECB/2001/13 concerns the reporting on a monthly basis of some BSI series that were previously reported on a quarterly basis according to Regulation ECB/1998/16. For the series subject to a change in the reporting timeliness, some additional instructions are provided in Table 4.

Regarding the reporting of historical data and revisions to periods prior to January 2003, these should always be sent as monthly series. The revisions concerning the quarterly series should be sent as monthly data with reference to the last month of the quarter to which they refer, using the monthly series keys. As for the reporting of historical data prior to January 2003, these are reported on a voluntary basis when available and flagged as appropriate through the use of the observation status and observation comment attributes (16). Historical data that are the result of estimates can be sent as estimates and appropriately flagged. In this case, a description of the methods of estimation should also be provided on the occasion of the first data transmission.

TABLE 4

Balance sheet items — change in timeliness: implementation for stock data

6.3.   Validation rules

In accordance with the minimum standards for the statistical reporting requirements of the ECB, as presented in Annex IV to Regulation ECB/2001/13, two general checking areas have been identified.

The first refers to linear relations, for which the mathematical result must hold and be maintained at every transmission. Accordingly, all the linear constraints between the BSIs must be fulfilled (balance sheets must balance, subtotals must add up to totals and they should not exceed the value of the total series). When the data do not fulfil one or more equations imposed, NCBs will be asked to check and revise their data. The ECB maintains and distributes to the NCBs tables containing the equations used for the linear checks.

The second focuses on qualitative checks, the results of which may require investigation by NCBs. In particular, for each BSI the absolute and the percentage (17) changes between intertemporal values may identify outliers or breaks in the time series as they are regularly monitored by the ECB. The reporting of zero values, negative values and missing values is also monitored on a regular basis. NCBs may be asked to give written explanations on the findings of the quality checks.

The two sets of checks are implemented by the ECB as part of the regular data reception procedures.

7.   Revision policy

NCBs may have to revise the data referring to the previous reference month (ordinary revisions). In addition, revisions arising from, for example, mistakes, reclassifications, improved reporting procedures, etc., and referring to data prior to the previous reference month (exceptional revisions) (18) may also occur.

The Money and Banking Statistics Compilation Guide(19) sets the principles to which the revision policy should conform. In particular:

In addition to the above, in view of the need to ensure a good balance between the quality of monetary statistics and their stability, and in order to enhance the consistency between the monthly and the quarterly returns, it is recommended that exceptional revisions to the monthly data are submitted at the time of the submission of the quarterly returns.

It must be noted that, when exceptional and ordinary revisions and updates are reported in the same data file, all data are processed simultaneously. Otherwise, if exceptional revisions are reported separately during the production period, after updates and ordinary revisions have been transmitted, the ECB may decide to postpone the processing and storage of these data until after the production period. In fact, although the ECB is technically capable of processing data files (containing exceptional/ordinary revisions and/or updates) as soon as they arrive at its gateway, exceptional revisions which come in during the production period may hamper the regular data processing and so delay the whole process of producing euro area aggregates. However, if incoming exceptional revisions could improve the significance of the data at the euro area level, or correct notable mistakes, these revisions may also be accepted during the production period.

8.   Return information to NCB

The ECB maintains and distributes to the NCBs tables describing the statistical series that will be returned to the NCBs.’                  

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(1)  The ECB’s own BSI statistics are also an element of the consolidation process.

(2)  The ECB Directorate Internal Finance also reports to the ECB Directorate-General Statistics its own balance sheet following these instructions.

(3)  The concatenation of concrete dimension values provides the time series names (keys).

(4)  The reporting of exchange rate adjustments series applies to the ECB only.

(5)  The attributes are statistical concepts which provide users with additional coded (e.g. the unit) and uncoded (e.g. the compilation method) information about the exchanged data. “Mandatory” are those attributes which must take a value, otherwise the corresponding observations which they refer to are not considered meaningful. “Conditional” are those attributes which are given values only if they are known in the reporting institution (e.g. domestic series ID) or whenever they are relevant (e.g. breaks), and they are permitted to take empty values. Attribute values are to be exchanged only as and when they are set for the first time or they change. Only the observation status is present in every interchange, attached to each observation.

(**)  Changes are to be communicated to the Statistical Information Systems Division of the ECB as well as to the responsible ECB business area by fax/e-mail.

(6)  ECB refers here to the ECB Directorate-General Statistics.

(7)  The ECB recommends that the NCBs deliver these values to ensure more transparent communications.

(8)  If the NCB wishes to revise an attribute, it will be necessary to re-submit the respective observation(s) at the same time. If any of the observation attributes are revised then, unless the NCB provides the relevant attribute value, the existing values will be replaced by the default values.

(9)  The observation status “M” is always sent together with an observation value “-”. See Section 4 for further information.

(10)  The observation status “L” is always sent together with an observation value “-”. See Section 4 for further information.

(11)  The observation status “E” should be adopted for all observations or periods of data that are the result of estimates and cannot be considered as normal values.

(12)  If on the occasion of the transmission of a revision (of one attribute or of the value of an observation) the observation status is not transmitted together with the value of the observation, it will be assumed that the value “A” applies for non-missing observations and the value “M” for missing observations.

(13)  If for technical reasons an NCB is not in a position to use the code value “L”, it must provide in a written format the list of series concerned to the ECB.

(14)  According to Regulation ECB/2001/18.

(15)  In the case of the ECB balance sheet, the exchange rate adjustment series are provided by the Internal Finance Directorate of the ECB in accordance with Annex X.

(16)  Values that are the result of estimation should be sent with an observation status (OBS_STATUS) attribute “E”, and with an observation comment (OBS_COM) describing the details of the estimation procedure.

(*1)  Revisions: revisions to data prior to January 2003 that were previously reported on a quarterly basis. Historical data: monthly data for the period prior to January 2003 for which no specific requirement is made in Regulation ECB/2001/13.

(17)  Not to be applied to items which denote zero. For these, the difference applies.

(18)  Defined as revisions applied to values related to a period prior to the month prior to the current reference month.

(19)  European Monetary Institute, Money and Banking Statistics Compilation Guide — Guidance provided to NCBs for the compilation of money and banking statistics for submission to the ECB, April 1998.

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ANNEX V

                     ‘ANNEX XVIII

STATISTICS ON OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES EXCEPT INSURANCE CORPORATIONS AND PENSION FUNDS

REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE COMPILATION OF STATISTICS FOLLOWING A SHORT-TERM APPROACH

1.   Objective

The requirement for statistical information on other financial intermediaries except insurance corporations and pension funds (hereinafter “OFIs”) is twofold. Firstly, it is important to collect data on OFIs in order to monitor their role in financial intermediation outside the monetary and financial institutions (MFIs) sector. Activities undertaken by OFIs are similar and complementary to those undertaken by MFIs and, in particular, given that for European Central Bank (ECB) statistical purposes balance sheet data on OFIs totally or partially owned by MFIs are not included in the MFIs’ balance sheets, it is necessary to collect statistical data relating to OFIs in order to complete the statistical picture of the euro area. Secondly, the ECB needs to monitor OFIs in order to ensure that the list of MFIs remains up to date, accurate, as homogeneous as possible and sufficiently stable for statistical purposes. As mentioned in Regulation ECB/2001/13, financial innovation might affect the characteristics of financial instruments and induce OFIs to change the focus of their business.

The aim of this Annex is to provide guidance on the completion of the reporting forms for the transmission to the ECB of data relating to OFIs.

2.   Compilation of euro area aggregates and type of statistical data to be provided

2.1.   Compilation of euro area aggregates

The transmission of data relating to OFIs is to be done following a short-term approach, that is, on the basis of currently available data at national level. It follows that statistical information to be provided might not always be fully available in accordance with the definitions and specifications outlined below. In cases where the reported data deviate from the definitions set out in this Annex, national central banks (NCBs) are requested to provide explanatory notes to the ECB (1). In accordance with this approach, and on the basis of the conceptual framework outlined below, NCBs should provide actual data where currently available. Where actual data are not available or cannot be processed, national estimates should be provided. As a fallback solution, in respect of certain specific breakdowns where national estimates cannot be provided, the ECB may make estimates/assumptions on a case-by-case basis.

In view of the additional burden that the computation of national estimates would place on NCBs, efforts should be mainly concentrated on a limited number of key statistical data. Indeed, the short-term approach aims to concentrate efforts on one specific subcategory of OFIs (see Section 3.2.a): investment funds. No specific additional efforts are required for the provision of data in respect of security and derivative dealers (SDDs), financial corporations engaged in lending (hereinafter FCLs) or other OFIs (residual), in the case that actual data are not collected at national level.

2.2.   Type of statistical data to be provided

Two types of indicators should be provided: key indicators and supplementary information

3.   Conceptual framework

3.1.   Reporting population

The European system of national and regional accounts (hereinafter the ESA 95 (2)) defines OFIs (S.123) as “non-monetary financial corporations and quasi-corporations (excluding insurance corporations and pension funds) principally engaged in financial intermediation by incurring liabilities in forms other than currency, deposits and/or close substitute for deposits from institutional units other than MFIs”.

The borderline with MFIs is determined by the non-existence of liabilities in the form of deposits held by non-MFIs, while the borderline with pension funds and insurance corporations is determined by the non-existence of liabilities in the form of insurance technical reserves.

The reporting population for the short-term approach will comprise all types of OFIs resident in the participating Member States. The term “resident” is as defined in Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (3). Hence, the reporting population comprises:

3.2.   Classification of subcategories of OFIs

In view of the heterogeneity of the activities undertaken by OFIs and differences in the availability of data by type of OFIs, four subcategories of OFIs have been identified for which data should be separately transmitted: 1. investment funds (except money market funds (MMFs)); 2. SDDs; 3. FCLs; and 4. other OFIs. Differences in the statistical details required will be outlined in this document.

The categories/groupings on the basis of which data should be provided are listed and defined below:

4.   Statistical reporting requirements

4.1.   Balance sheet items

The compilation of key statistical indicators for the OFI sector requires a specific financial instrument breakdown. To the extent possible, instrument, geographical and sectoral breakdowns follow the reporting scheme defined for the MFI sector. However, the breakdown is in practice less detailed than the breakdown required for the MFI balance sheet statistics.

Furthermore, in view of the heterogeneity of the activities undertaken by financial corporations classified as OFIs and in view of the differences in current availability of data by subcategory of OFIs, the balance sheet breakdowns required vary according to the type of OFI subcategory.

Instrument and maturity breakdown: The table below provides an overview of the required instrument breakdown by type of OFI subcategory. Specifications to these instrument breakdowns are described in the paragraphs below. In principle, the instrument breakdown is to be provided as key indicators for all subcategories of OFIs (except for “investment funds by type of investors” and “other OFIs”).

Overview of the instrument and maturity breakdown

Additional requirements for the purposes of compiling monetary union financial accounts (MUFA): The table below provides an overview of the required additional instrument breakdown. Specifications regarding this instrument breakdown are described in the paragraphs below. In principle, the additional instrument breakdown is to be provided as memorandum items only for the subcategory “total investment funds”.

Additional requirements for the purposes of MUFA compilation

ASSETS

LIABILITIES

ACCOUNTING RULES

Accounting rules followed by OFIs in drawing up their accounts should in principle comply with the national transposition of Council Directive 86/635/EEC of 8 December 1986 on the annual accounts and consolidated accounts of banks and other financial institutions (9) and any other international standards applicable. Without prejudice to the prevailing accounting practices in Member States, all assets and all liabilities are to be reported on a gross basis for statistical purposes. Specific guidance in the valuation methods are given under the relevant categories.

GEOGRAPHICAL, SECTORAL AND BY PURPOSE BREAKDOWN

The ECB requires, for some subcategories of OFIs and for a limited number of BSI, a geographical and sectoral breakdown similar to the MFI BSI.

Geographical and sectoral breakdowns

Geographical breakdowns

The compilation of OFI statistics for the euro area requires the identification of counterparties located in the participating Member States with a breakdown between domestic territory and other participating Member States. The full geographical breakdown required is therefore “domestic/other participating Member States/rest of the world”. In the case of non-participating Member States, the breakdown is “domestic/participating Member States/rest of the world”.

The geographical breakdown required relates to BSIs of:

Sectoral breakdowns (11)

The main sectoral breakdown required is “MFI/non-MFI”. The definition of MFI is well known while “non-MFI” comprises the sectors “general government”                               (12) and “other resident sectors”                               (13).

The sectoral breakdown required for the domestic data and other participating Member States data is the same. No sectoral breakdown is required for the rest of the world data.

The sectoral breakdown is required for a limited number of items:

Breakdown by purpose

This breakdown is only required for data relating to FCLs. It refers to the BSI “loans” and in particular to “loans” to households for which the purpose of the loan should be identified (broken down into consumer credit, lending for house purchases and other lending (residual)). This breakdown is required as a key indicator.

4.2.   Adjustment data

Adjustment data should be reported only in the case of significant breaks in stocks. For example, adjustment data should be provided due to reclassifications in the context of the implementation of the ESA 95 framework. Data should be provided where currently available, on a voluntary basis.

4.3.   Transactions data

Under the short-term approach to OFI statistics, data on financial transactions and sales and repurchases of units/shares issued by investment funds are to be provided as “memorandum items” for the subsector “investment funds” (for total investment funds and for investment funds by type of investment).

Instrument and maturity breakdown: The table below provides an overview of the required instrument and maturity breakdown of transactions data.

Overview of the instrument and maturity breakdown of transaction data

Sales and repurchases of investment fund shares/units: The table below provides an overview of the required instrument breakdown of data on sales and repurchases of investment fund shares/units.

Sales and repurchases of investment fund shares/units

Additional requirements for the purposes of compiling MUFA: The table below provides an overview of the required additional instrument and maturity breakdown of transactions data.

Additional requirements for the purposes of MUFA compilation

4.4.   Reporting frequency, timeliness and time range

The reporting frequency to the ECB is quarterly.

OFI statistics are transmitted to the ECB at the latest on the last calendar day of the third month following the end of the reference period, or on the preceding NCB business day (17) if the last calendar day of the month is not an NCB business day. The exact transmission dates are communicated to NCBs in advance in the form of a reporting calendar. Historical quarterly data are to be transmitted to the ECB starting with those for the first available reference period, at least starting with the data for the reference period fourth quarter 1998.

5.   Electronic transmission of OFI statistics — key family identifier: OFI

The OFI key family refers to euro area OFI balance sheet statistics. It has been designed in such a way as to draw as much as possible on the key family code lists and values already defined for BSI statistics.

5.1.   Dimensions

The table below describes the dimensions used in the OFI key family. For the OFI statistics, 11 dimensions have been specified as essential to identify the time series.

Each of the 11 statistical dimensions takes its values from a corresponding code list. For example, according to the table above, the dimension REF_AREA (reference area) takes its values from the CL_AREA_EE code list. The dimensions of the OFI key family are described below, following the same sequence as they appear in the key.

Dimension No 1: Frequency (FREQ; length: one character)

This dimension indicates the frequency of the reported time series. The value used in the OFI key family is “Q” for quarterly data and is a subset of the values specified in the code list CL_FREQ. When national data are only available at a lower frequency (i.e. half-yearly or annual), NCBs estimate quarterly data. When quarterly estimates are not feasible, data are nevertheless provided as quarterly time series (i.e. annual data are provided as yyyyQ4 and half-yearly data are provided as yyyyQ2 and yyyyQ4 with the remaining quarters either not reported or reported as missing with observation status “L”                            (18)).

Dimension No 2: Reference area (REF_AREA; length: two characters)

This dimension represents the country of residence of the reporting institution. The associated code list CL_AREA_EE contains the standard ISO country list and some additional values (see also dimension No 8: Counterparty area). The subset of values used in the OFI key family corresponds to the European Union (EU) Member States.

Dimension No 3: Adjustment indicator (ADJUSTMENT; length: one character)

This dimension indicates whether a seasonal adjustment and/or a working day adjustment have been applied. The corresponding code list is CL_ADJUSTMENT. The value used in the OFI key family is “N” for neither seasonally nor working day adjusted series.

Dimension No 4: OFI reference sectoral breakdown (OFI_REP_SECTOR; length: two characters)

This dimension indicates which type of OFI is reporting and is linked to the code list CL_OFI_REP_SECTOR. The following 11 values have been defined: total investment funds (“10”); investment funds broken down by type of investment: equity funds (“11”), bond funds (“12”), mixed funds (“13”), real estate funds (“14”) and other funds (“15”); investment funds broken down by type of investor: general public funds (“1G”) and special investors funds (“1S”); SDDs (“20”); FCLs (“30”) and other categories of OFIs (“40”).

Dimension No 5: OFI balance sheet item (OFI_ITEM; length: three characters)

This dimension represents the BSI of the OFI balance sheet and is linked to the code list CL_OFI_ITEM. Values for assets and liabilities are identified by the prefix “A” or “L” and are organised and coded following, wherever possible, a hierarchical relation among the items. Since OFIs concentrate on different financial activities depending on their type, not all BSIs apply to all the types. In particular, on the asset side two different items have been defined for “other assets”:

On the liability side three different items have been defined for “other liabilities”:

Dimension No 6: Original maturity (MATURITY_ORIG; length: one character)

This dimension represents the original maturity of the BSI and is linked to the code list CL_MATURITY_ORIG. The maturity breakdown up to one year (“F”) and over 1 year (“K”) applies to the item “securities other than shares” for the investment funds categories. Conceptually, although the maturity breakdown is not required in this context, original maturity also applies to the asset items “loans” and “deposits” and the liability items “deposits and loans taken” and “debt securities issued”. In these cases the value “A” is therefore used for total maturity. All other items show the value “X” for not applicable.

Dimension No 7: Data type (DATA_TYPE; length: one character)

This dimension is described by the code list CL_DATA_TYPE and indicates the type of data to be reported: gross stocks (“1”), sales (“2”), repurchases (“3”), financial transactions (“4”), and reclassification and other adjustments (“5”). Reclassification and other adjustments comprise changes in the assets and liabilities on the balance sheet of the OFI reporting sector arising from 1) changes in the reporting population; 2) corporate restructuring; 3) the reclassification of assets and liabilities; and 4) the correction of those reporting errors which, for technical reasons, cannot be removed from the stock data for the complete relevant period.

Dimension No 8: Counterparty area (COUNT_AREA; length: two characters)

This dimension represents the area of residence of the counterparty of the OFI balance sheet. The code list linked to this concept is CL_AREA_EE, which contains the standard ISO country list and additional values (e.g. “U6” — “Domestic: same country as of the reporting OFI”). For the purpose of the OFI key family a subset of values is used: domestic (home or reference area) (“U6”); other participating Member States (all countries except the reference area) (“U5”); rest of the world (“U4”) and world (all entities) (“A1”). When a country becomes a participating Member State, historical data referring to the pre-entry period are provided using the counterparty area codes Monetary Union (“U2”) and all areas other than the participating Member States and reference/home area(“U8”) (19).

Dimension No 9: Balance sheet counterparty sector (BS_COUNT_SECTOR; length: four characters)

This dimension represents the sectoral breakdown of the OFI BSI and is linked to the code list CL_BS_COUNT_SECTOR. Five counterparty sectors are required: MFIs (“                           1000                           ”); non-MFIs (“                           2000                           ”); other resident sectors — o/w non-financial corporations (“                           2240                           ”); other resident sectors — o/w households (“                           2251                           ”) and the unspecified sector (“                           0000                           ”).

Dimension No 10: Currency of transaction (CURRENCY_TRANS; length: three characters)

This dimension describes the currency in which the OFI BSIs are denominated and is linked to the code list CL_CURRENCY. Only the value “Z01” is used for all currencies combined.

Dimension No 11: Denomination of the series or special calculation (SERIES_DENOM; length: one character)

This dimension specifies whether the reported series is expressed in national or in the common (euro) currency. It has two values (“N”, national currency and “E”, euro), that are represented by the code list CL_SERIES_DENOM. The code “E” is used by the participating Member States, while the code “N” is used by new participating Member States for the provision of historical data for the pre-entry period (20).

5.2.   Attributes

In addition to the 11 dimensions defining the key, a set of attributes has been defined (21). These are attached at various levels of the exchanged information:

Balance sheet items key family (ECB_OFI): coded and uncoded attributes

Each of these attributes is characterised by some technical properties, which are listed in the table below.

Euro area NCBs reporting to the ECB

Common attribute properties for the ECB_OFI key family

Below is a description of each attribute including the reference code list (indicated in capital letters as CL_****) whenever it applies.

5.2.1.   Attributes at sibling level

Mandatory:

Conditional:

A detailed description of the information to be included under this attribute is provided in Appendix 2 (points 1 to 5).

5.2.2.   Attributes at time series level

Mandatory:

Conditional:

5.2.3.   Attributes at observation level

Mandatory:

Conditional:

6.   Exchange of information

6.1.   List of series

The ECB maintains and distributes to the NCBs tables containing lists with series keys of OFI time series to be transmitted. The series to be provided to the ECB are set out in Appendix 1. The following series to be reported can be distinguished:

KEY INDICATORS

The stock data to be reported under this category refer to:

Total investment funds and investment funds broken down by type of investment:

MEMORANDUM ITEMS

The stock data to be reported under this category refer to:

ADJUSTMENTS AND TRANSACTIONS DATA

In addition to the series on stocks, the corresponding series on “reclassification and other adjustments” and “transactions”, including data on sales and repurchases of investment fund shares/units, are required when available.

6.2.   Data requirements

Key indicators should be transmitted by all participating Member States when actual data are available. When no actual data are available for certain breakdowns or for the agreed quarterly frequency, estimates are to be provided if feasible.

                        “Supplementary data” should only be transmitted by those countries for which actual data are available.

In the case that the underlying economic phenomenon exists but is not monitored statistically and therefore national estimates cannot be provided, NCBs may choose either not to report the time series or to report it as missing with observation status “L”. Any time series that is not reported will therefore be interpreted as “data that exist but are not collected” and assumptions/estimates may be made at ECB level for the purpose of compiling euro area aggregates.

For transactions data, where transactions are estimated by taking the change in stocks (Qt-Qt-1), NCBs should either not report the time series or report it as missing with observation status “L”.

If the underlying phenomenon does not exist, then the time series must be reported as missing with observation status “M”.

In the case of data on “reclassifications and other adjustments”, data must only be reported when a reclassification or other adjustment as described in Section 4.2 occurs.

7.   Revision policy

NCBs may have to revise the data transmitted the previous quarter (ordinary revisions). In addition, revisions to data on earlier quarters (historical revisions) may also occur.

The following general principles apply:

Appendix 1

SERIES ON INVESTMENT FUNDS TO BE TRANSMITTED TO THE ECB — STOCK DATA

(Key indicators/Memorandum items)

ASSETS

LIABILITIES

SERIES ON INVESTMENT FUNDS TO BE TRANSMITTED TO THE ECB — TRANSACTIONS DATA

(Memorandum items)

ASSETS

LIABILITIES

SERIES ON INVESTMENT FUNDS TO BE TRANSMITTED TO THE ECB — SALES AND REPURCHASES

(Memorandum items)

LIABILITIES

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(1)  See Appendix 2.

(2)  Contained in Annex A to Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1).

(3)OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8.

(4)  In the case that, at national level, funds investing in transferable securities and real estate are classified as being “mixed funds”, these funds should be allocated to the “mixed funds” category.

(5)  For statistical purposes, leasing is defined as financial leasing when the leasing period covers all or most of the economic lifetime of the durable good. At the end of the leasing period, the lessee often has the option to buy the good at a nominal price (ESA 95, Annex II).

(6)  Excluding investment fund shares/units.

(7)  It should be noted that, in the MFI balance sheet, no distinction is made between deposits and loans on the asset and liability side. Instead, all non-negotiable funds placed with/lent to MFIs (= liabilities) are deemed to be in “deposits” and all funds placed by/lent by the MFIs (= assets) are deemed to be “loans”. However, the ESA 95 outlines the difference based on the criterion of who is taking the initiative for the transaction. In cases where the initiative is taken by the borrower, the financial transaction is to be classified as a loan. In cases where the initiative is taken by the lender, the transaction is to be classified as a deposit.

(8)  European Central Bank, November 2002.

(9)OJ L 372, 31.12.1986, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2003/51/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 178, 17.7.2003, p. 16).

(10)  Required only for the item “loans”.

(11)  The ESA 95 provides the standard for sectoral classification.

(12)  General government: Resident units which are principally engaged in the production of non-market goods and services, intended for individual and collective consumption and/or in the redistribution of national income and wealth (ESA 95 paragraphs 2.68 to 2.70). General government includes central government, State government, local government and social security funds (ESA 95, paragraphs 2.71 to 2.74). For further guidance on the sectoral classification, please refer to theMoney and Banking Statistics Sector Manual: Guidance for the statistical classification of customers, European Central Bank, second edition, November 1999.

(13)  Other resident sectors comprise:

(14)  Excluding investment fund shares/units.

(15)  Not reported for equity and bond funds.

(16)  Loans are also to be reported separately for the sub-sector “total investment funds”.

(17)              “NCB business day” means any day on which a particular NCB of a participating Member State is open for the purpose of conducting ESCB monetary policy operations.

(18)  See also Section 6.2, “Data requirements”.

(19)  For example, in the case of Greece, the counterparty area codes “U2” and “U8” are used for data referring to periods prior to and including 2000Q4, and the codes “U5” and “U4” are used from 2001Q1 onwards.

(20)  For example, in the case of Greece, the code “N” is used for data referring to periods prior to and including 2000Q4, and the code “E” from 2001Q1 onwards.

(21)  Attributes are statistical concepts which provide additional coded (e.g. the unit) and uncoded (e.g. the compilation method) information about the exchanged data. “Mandatory” applies to the attributes for which all partners know the values. “Conditional” applies to the attributes which are defined only if they are known in the reporting institution (e.g. domestic series ids) or whenever they are relevant (e.g. compilation, breaks). Attribute values are to be exchanged only when they are set for the first time and whenever they change. Only the observation status is present in every interchange, attached to each observation.

(**)  Changes are to be communicated to the responsible ECB business area by fax/e-mail.

(22)  ECB refers to the ECB Directorate General Statistics.

(23)  For example, in the case of Greece, the value of this attribute is set as “GRD” for the period up to and including 2000Q4 and as “EUR” from 2001Q1 onwards.

(24)  For the purposes of the OFI key family, this attribute is not requested since this information is already available from the reclassification series. It has been added to the list since it is part of the common list of possible values for the observation status attribute for all key families. However, if the observation status “B” is provided, it must be accompanied by a pre-break observation value (OBS_PRE_BREAK).

(25)  When, owing to local market practices or to the legal framework, a time series (or part of it) is not applicable (the underlying phenomenon does not exist), a missing value is reported (“-”) with observation status “M”.

(26)  When, owing to local statistical conditions, data for a time series are not collected either on specific dates or for the total length of the time series (the underlying economic phenomenon exists but is not monitored statistically), a missing value is reported (“-”) with observation status “L” in each period.

(27)  These observations take definite values (observation status “A”) at a later stage. The new revised values overwrite the previous provisional observations.

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            GUIDELINE OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK         

of 17 February 2005         

on the statistical reporting requirements of the European Central Bank and the procedures for exchanging statistical information within the European System of Central Banks in the field of government finance statistics

(ECB/2005/5)

(2005/327/EC)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular Article 5.1 and 5.2, Article 12.1 and Article 14.3 thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS GUIDELINE:

Article 1

Definitions

For the purposes of this Guideline:

Article 2

Statistical reporting obligations of the NCBs

1.   The NCBs shall report GFS to the ECB, as specified in Annex I, on a calendar annual basis. The data shall comply with the principles and definitions of the ESA 95 and of Regulation (EC) No 3605/93, as further detailed in Annex II.

2.   The data shall cover the period from 1991 to the year to which the transmission relates (year t-1).

3.   The data on deficit/surplus, debt, revenue, expenditure or nominal gross domestic product (GDP) shall be accompanied by reasons for revisions when the magnitude of the change to deficit/surplus caused by revisions is at least 0.3 % of GDP or the magnitude of the change to debt, revenue, expenditure or nominal GDP caused by revisions is at least 0.5 % of GDP.

Article 3

Statistical reporting obligations of the ECB

1.   On the basis of the data reported by the NCBs, the ECB shall manage the ‘GFS database’, which will include euro area and EU aggregates. The ECB shall disseminate the GFS database to the NCBs.

2.   The NCBs shall flag their statistical information indicating to whom it may be made available. The ECB shall take this flagging into account when it disseminates the GFS database.

Article 4

Timeliness

1.   The NCBs shall report complete data sets twice a year, before 15 April and before 15 September.

2.   The NCBs shall report on their own initiative partial data sets, between the two deliveries described in paragraph one, when new information becomes available. When reporting a partial data set covering only key categories, the NCBs may also provide estimates of the secondary categories.

3.   The ECB shall disseminate the GFS database to the NCBs at least once a month, not later than the next ECB working day after the ECB finalises the data for publication.

Article 5

Cooperation with the competent national authorities

1.   Where the sources of some or all of the data and the information described in Article 2 are competent national authorities other than the NCBs, the NCBs shall endeavour to establish with those authorities the appropriate modalities of cooperation to ensure a permanent structure of data transmission to fulfil the standards and requirements of the ESCB, unless the same result is already achieved on the basis of national legislation.

2.   When in the course of this cooperation an NCB is unable to comply with the requirements laid down in Articles 2 and 4 because the competent national authority did not provide the NCB with the necessary information, the ECB and the NCB shall discuss with that authority how the information can be made available.

Article 6

Transmission and coding standards

The NCBs and the ECB shall use the standards specified in Annex III to transmit and code the data described in Articles 2 and 3. This requirement does not prevent the use of some other means of transmitting statistical information to the ECB as an agreed fallback solution.

Article 7

Quality

1.   The ECB and NCBs shall monitor and promote the quality of the data reported to the ECB.

2.   The Executive Board of the ECB shall report yearly to the Governing Council of the ECB on the quality of the annual GFS.

3.   The report shall address, at least, the coverage of the data, the extent to which they comply with the relevant definitions, and the magnitude of revisions.

Article 8

Derogations

1.   The Governing Council of the ECB shall grant derogations to the NCBs that are unable to comply with the requirements laid down in Articles 2 and 4(1). The granted derogations are listed in Annex IV.

2.   An NCB which has been granted a derogation for a specified period of time shall inform the ECB yearly of the steps to be taken in order to fully comply with the reporting requirements.

3.   The Governing Council of the ECB shall review the derogations yearly.

Article 9

Simplified amendment procedure

Taking account of the views of the Statistics Committee, the Executive Board of the ECB shall be entitled to make technical amendments to the annexes to this Guideline, provided that such amendments neither change the underlying conceptual framework nor affect the reporting burden.

Article 10

Entry into force

This Guideline shall enter into force two days following its adoption.

Article 11

Addressees

This Guideline is addressed to the NCBs of the participating Member States.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 17 February 2005.

For the Governing Council of the ECB

The President of the ECB

Jean-Claude TRICHET            

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(1)OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8.

(2)OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1267/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 180, 18.7.2003, p. 1).

(3)OJ L 332, 31.12.1993, p. 7. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 351/2002 (OJ L 55, 26.2.2002, p. 23).

(4)  Published in OJ L 55, 24.2.2001, p. 72, as Annex III to Decision ECB/2000/12 of 10 November 2000 on the publication of certain legal acts and instruments of the European Central Bank.

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ANNEX I

DATA REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The complete data set comprises revenue and expenditure statistics (Table 1A, Table 1B and Table 1C), deficit-debt adjustment statistics (Table 2A and Table 2B) and debt statistics (Table 3A and Table 3B). Key categories are those in bold, while the remaining ones are secondary categories. Partial data sets comprise at least the key categories under revenue and expenditure statistics, deficit-debt adjustment statistics or debt statistics. The categories refer to the general government sector unless stated otherwise.

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE STATISTICS

Table 1A

Table 1B

Table 1C

DEFICIT-DEBT ADJUSTMENT STATISTICS

Table 2A

Table 2B

DEBT STATISTICS

Table 3A

Table 3B

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(1)  [x.y] refers to the category number y of Table x.

(2)  To be reported for the years before the Member State became a participating Member State.

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ANNEX II

METHODOLOGICAL DEFINITIONS

1.   Methodological references

The categories detailed in Annex I are, in general, defined by reference to Annex A to the ESA 95 and/or to Council Regulation (EC) No 3605/93. Complementary methodological definitions are laid down in Article 1 of this Guideline. In particular, the codes referring to sectors and subsectors are detailed in the following table.

Sectors and subsectors in the ESA 95

2.   Definition of the categories (1)

Table 1A

Table 1B

Table 1C

Table 2A

Table 2B

Table 3A

Table 3B

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(1)  [x.y] refers to the category number y of Table x.

(2)  Leading to the reclassification of the debtor unit from the subsector S.11001 or S.12x01 to the subsector S.11002/3 or S.12x02/3 or vice-versa.

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ANNEX III

TRANSMISSION AND CODING STANDARDS

For the electronic transmission of the statistical information as described in Articles 2 and 3, the NCBs and the ECB shall use the facility provided by the ESCB, which relies upon the telecommunication network ‘ESCB-Net’. The message format developed for this exchange of statistical information is the ‘GESMES/TS’ format. Each time series shall be coded using the GFS key family shown below.

GFS key family

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ANNEX IV

DEROGATIONS RELATED TO THE TIME SERIES LISTED IN ANNEX I, TABLES 1A TO 3B

1.   Current data (1)

2.   Back data (2)

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(1)  Derogations for current and back data, where current data are not available.

(2)  Derogations for back data, where current data are available.

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            GUIDELINE OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK         

of 11 March 2005         

amending Guideline ECB/2000/1 on the management of the foreign reserve assets of the European Central Bank by the national central banks and the legal documentation for operations involving the foreign reserve assets of the European Central Bank

(ECB/2005/6)

(2005/328/EC)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community and in particular the third indent of Article 105(2) thereof,

Having regard to the third indent of Article 3.1 and to Articles 12.1, 14.3 and 30.6 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS GUIDELINE:

Article 1

Guideline ECB/2000/1 is amended as follows:

Article 2

Entry into force

This Guideline shall enter into force on 15 June 2005.

Article 3

Addressees

This Guideline is addressed to the national central banks of the Member States that have adopted the euro in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 11 March 2005.

For the Governing Council of the ECB

The President of the ECB

Jean-Claude TRICHET            

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(1)OJ L 207, 17.8.2000, p. 24. Guideline as last amended by Guideline ECB/2002/6 (OJ L 270, 8.10.2002, p. 14).

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ANNEX

                     ‘ANNEX 3

Standard agreements for collateralised operations, over-the-counter derivatives operations and deposits

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