Recommendation of the European Central Bank for a Council Regulation (EC) concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank
Date: 1998-07-07
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: European Central Bank, data collection, economic planning, information processing, statistics

C  246/12

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

6.8.98

Article  4

Time  limits

172  of  the  Treaty  over  the  review  of  final  decisions
whereby  a  sanction  is  imposed.

1.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  right  to  take  the  decision  to 
initiate  an
infringement  procedure,  as  provided  for  in  this  Regu(cid:220)
lation,  shall  expire  one  year  after  the  existence  of  the
alleged  infringement  first  became  known  either  to  the
ECB  or  to  the  national  central  bank  of  the  Member  State
in  whose  jurisdiction  the  alleged  infringement  occured
and, 
infringement
occurred  or,  in  the  case  of  a  continued  infringement,  five
years  after  the  infringement  was  terminated.

in  any  case,  five  years  after  the 

2.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  right  to  take  the  decision  to  impose  a  sanction
in  respect  of  an  infringement,  as  provided  for  in  this
Regulation,  shall  expire  one  year  after  the  decision  to
initiate  the  procedure  as  described  in  Article  3(1)  was
taken.

3.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  right  to  start  an  enforcement  procedure  shall
expire 
the  decision  has  become
six  months  after 
enforceable  pursuant  to  Article  3(7).

Article  6

General  provisions

1.(cid:218)(cid:217)In  the  event  of  a  conflict  between  the  provisions  of
this  Regulation  and  the  provisions  of  other  Council
regulations  enabling  the  ECB  to  impose  sanctions,  the
provisions  of  the  latter  shall  prevail.

2.(cid:218)(cid:217)Subject  to  the  limits  and  conditions  laid  down  in
this  Regulation,  the  ECB  may  adopt  regulations  to
specify  further  the  arrangements  whereby  sanctions  may
be  imposed  in  accordance  herewith  as  well  as  guidelines
to  coordinate  and  harmonise  the  procedures  in  relation
to  the  conduct  of  the  infringement  procedure.

Article  7

Final  provisions

Article  5

Judicial  review

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  1  January  1999.

The  Court  of  Justice  of  the  European  Communities  shall
have  unlimited  jurisdiction  within  the  meaning  of  Article

This  Regulation  shall  be  binding  in  its  entirety  and  shall
be  directly  applicable  in  all  Member  States.

Recommendation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  for  a  Council  Regulation  (EC)  concerning  the
collection  of  statistical  information  by  the  European  Central  Bank

(98/C  246/08)

(Submitted  by  the  European  Central  Bank  on  7  July  1998)

THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Statute  of  the  European  System  of
Central  Banks  and  of  the  European  Central  Bank  (the
Statute)  and  in  particular  Article  5.4  thereof,

Having  regard  to  the  recommendation  of  the  European
Central  Bank  (the  ECB),

Having 
Parliament,

regard 

to 

the  opinion  of 

the  European

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  Commission,

In  accordance  with  the  procedure  foreseen  in  Article
106(6)  of 
the  European
Community  (the  Treaty)  and  in  Article  42  of  the  Statute,

the  Treaty 

establishing 

(1)(cid:217)Whereas  Article  5.1  of  the  Statute  requires  the
ECB,  assisted  by  the  national  central  banks,  to
collect  either  from  the  competent  national  auth(cid:220)
orities  or  directly  from  economic  agents  the  stat(cid:220)
istical  information  which  is  necessary  for  the  tasks
of  the  European  System  of  Central  Banks  (the
ESCB)  to  be  performed;  whereas  to  facilitate  the
execution  of  these  tasks,  set  out  in  Article  105  of
the  conduct  of
in  particular 
the  Treaty,  and 
is
information 
this 
monetary  policy, 
primarily  used  for  the  production  of  aggregated
statistical  information,  for  which  the  identity  of
individual  economic  agents  is  irrelevant,  but  may
also  be  used  at  the  level  of  individual  economic
agents;  whereas  Article  5.2  of  the  Statute  requires
the  national  central  banks  to  carry  out,  to  the
extent  possible,  the  tasks  described  in  Article  5.1  of
the  Statute;  whereas  Article  5.4  of  the  Statute

statistical 

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C  246/13

subject 

to  reporting  requirements, 
regime 

requires  the  Council  to  define  the  natural  and  legal
persons 
the
confidentiality 
appropriate
provisions  for  enforcement;  whereas  the  national
central  banks  may  cooperate  with  other  competent
authorities 
institutes
including  national  statistical 
and  market  regulators  for  the  purposes  of  Article
5.1  of  the  Statute;

and 

the 

(2)(cid:217)Whereas  for  statistical  information  to  be  effective  as
an  instrument  for  the  performance  of  the  tasks  of
its
the  ESCB,  definitions  and  procedures 
collection  need  to  be  structured  so  that  the  ECB
has  the  ability  and  flexibility  to  avail  itself  in  a
timely  manner  of  high(cid:220)quality 
statistics  which
reflect  changing  economic  and  financial  conditions
imposed  on
and 
reporting  agents;

take  account  of 

the  burden 

for 

it 

is 

therefore  desirable 

reporting  population 
economic  units 

to  define  a
(3)(cid:217)Whereas 
terms  of
reference 
statistical
categories  of 
applications 
statistical
powers  of  the  ECB  shall  be  confined  and  from
which  the  ECB  shall  determine  the  actual  reporting
population  through  its  regulatory  power;

in 
and 
the 

to  which 

involved, 

(4)(cid:217)Whereas  a  homogeneous  reporting  population  is
necessary  for  the  production  of  the  "consolidated
balance  sheet  of  the  monetary  financial  institutions
sector’  of  the  participating  Member  States,  the
principal  aim  of  which  is  to  provide  the  ECB  with  a
comprehensive  statistical  picture  of  monetary  devel(cid:220)
opments  in  the  participating  Member  States,  seen  as
one  economic  territory;  whereas  the  ECB  has
established  and  maintains  a 
list  of  monetary
financial  institutions  for  statistical  purposes  based
on  a  common  definition  of  these  institutions;

(5)(cid:217)Whereas  the  said  common  definition  for  statistical
purposes  specifies  that  monetary  financial 
insti(cid:220)
tutions  comprise  credit  institutions  as  defined  in
Community  law,  and  all  other  resident  financial
institutions  whose  business  is  to  receive  deposits
and/or  close  substitutes  for  deposits  from  entities
other  than  monetary  financial  institutions  and,  for
their  own  account  (at  least  in  economic  terms),  to
grand  credits  and/or 
in
securities;

investments 

to  make 

(6)(cid:217)Whereas  those  post  office  giro  institutions  which
may  not  fulfil  the  common  definition  for  statistical
purposes  of  monetary  financial 
institutions  may
nevertheless  need  to  be  made  subject  to  the  ECB’s
in  the  field  of
statistical  reporting  requirements 

money  and  banking  statistics  and  payment  systems
statistics  because  they  may,  to  a  significant  extent,
receive  deposits  and/or 
for
deposits  and  undertake  payment  systems  business;

substitutes 

close 

(7)(cid:217)Whereas 

therefore  comprise 

in  the  European  System  of  Accounts
1995(cid:216)(˛)  (the  ESA  95),  the  monetary  financial  insti(cid:220)
tutions 
"the
central  bank’  and  "other  monetary  financial  insti(cid:220)
tutions’  and  may  be  broadened  solely  through  the
inclusion  of  categories  of  institutions  coming  from
the  subsector  "other  financial  intermediaries,  except
insurance  corporations  and  pension  funds’;

subsectors 

the 

(8)(cid:217)Whereas  statistics  on  the  balance  of  payments,  the
international 
investment  position,  securities,  elec(cid:220)
tronic  money  and  payment  systems  are  necessary  to
enable  the  ESCB  to  fulfil  its  tasks  in  an  inde(cid:220)
pendent  manner;

(9)(cid:217)Whereas  the  use  of  the  terms  "legal  and  natural
persons’  in  Article  5.4  of  the  Statute  has  to  be
construed  in  a  manner  that  is  consistent  with  the
practices  of  Member  States  in  the  field  of  money
and  banking  statistics  and  balance  of  payments
statistics  and  therefore  also  encompasses  entities
that  are  neither  legal  persons  nor  natural  persons
under  their  respective  national  laws  but  still  fall
within  the  relevant  subsectors  of  the  ESA  95;
whereas  reporting  requirements  can  therefore  be
imposed  on  entities  such  as  partnerships,  branches,
undertakings  for  collective 
in  trans(cid:220)
ferable  securities  (UCITS)  and  funds  that,  under
their  respective  laws,  do  not  enjoy  the  status  of  a
legal  person;  whereas  in  these  cases  the  reporting
obligation  is  imposed  on  those  persons  who,  under
the  applicable  national  laws,  legally  represent  the
entities  concerned;

investments 

(10)(cid:217)Whereas  the  statistical  balance  sheet  reports  of
institutions  mentioned  in  Article  19.1  of  the  Statute
may  also  be  used  to  calculate  the  amount  of
minimum  reserves  which  they  may  be  obliged  to
hold;

(11)(cid:217)Whereas  it  is  the  task  of  the  Governing  Council  of
the  ECB  to  specify  the  division  of  tasks  between  the
ECB  and  the  national  central  banks  concerning  the
collection  and  verification  of  statistical  information
and  their  enforcement,  taking 
into  account  the
principle  laid  down  in  Article  5.2  of  the  Statute,  as
well  as  the  tasks  which  will  be  assumed  by  national
authorities  within  the  limits  of  their  competence,
for  the  purposes  of  obtaining  statistics  of  a  consis(cid:220)
tently  high  quality;

(˛)(cid:217)OJ  L  310,  30.11.1996.

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be 

reporting 

requirements 

transitional  procedures  due 

(12)(cid:217)Whereas  in  the  early  years  of  the  single  currency
area  cost(cid:220)effectiveness  may  require  that  the  ECB’s
statistical 
satisfied
through 
to  existing
constraints  on  the  collection  systems;  whereas  this
may  imply  in  particular  that,  in  the  case  of  the
financial  account  of  the  balance  of  payments,  data
on  cross(cid:220)border  positions  or  transactions  of  the
participating  Member  States  seen  as  one  economic
territory  may 
in  the  early  years  of  the  single
currency  area  be  compiled  using  all  positions  or
transactions  between  residents  of  a  participating
Member  State  and  residents  of  other  countries;

(13)(cid:217)Whereas  the  limits  within  and  the  conditions  under
which  the  ECB  is  entitled  to  impose  sanctions  on
undertakings  for  failure  to  comply  with  the  obli(cid:220)
gations  laid  down  in  regulations  and  decisions  of
the  ECB  have  been  defined  by  the  Council  Regu(cid:220)
lation  (EC)  concerning  the  powers  of  the  European
Central  Bank  to  impose  sanctions,  in  accordance
with  Article  34.3  of  the  Statute;  whereas  in  the
event  of  a  conflict  between  the  provisions  of  the
the  present  Regulation
said  Regulation  and 
enabling 
the
provisions  of  the  present  Regulation  will  prevail;
whereas  the  sanctions  for  non(cid:220)compliance  with  the
obligations  set  out  in  this  Regulation  are  without
prejudice  to  the  possibility  of  the  ESCB  establishing
appropriate  enforcement  provisions  in  its  relations
with  counterparties,  including  the  partial  or  total
exclusion  of  a  reporting  agent  from  monetary
policy  operations 
serious
infringement  of  statistical  reporting  requirements;

the  case  of  a 

the  ECB 

sanctions, 

impose 

to 

in 

(14)(cid:217)Whereas  regulations  made  by 

the  ECB  under
Article  34.1  of  the  Statute  do  not  confer  any  rights
impose  any  obligations  on  non(cid:220)partipating
or 
Member  States;

(15)(cid:217)Whereas  Denmark,  referring  to  paragraph  1  of  the
Protocol  (12)  on  certain  provisions  relating  to
Denmark,  has  given  notification,  in  the  context  of
the  Edinburgh  Decision  of  12  December  1992,  that
it  will  not  participate  in  the  third  stage  of  economic
and  monetary  union;  whereas, 
in
accordance  with  paragraph  2  of  the  said  Protocol,
all  Articles  and  provisions  of  the  Treaty  and  the
Statute  referring  to  a  derogation  will  be  applicable
to  Denmark;

therefore, 

Kingdom  unless  it  participates  in  the  third  stage  of
economic  and  monetary  union;

(17)(cid:217)Whereas,  while  it  is  recognised  that  the  statistical
information  needed  to  fulfil  the  ECB’s  statistical
reporting  requirements 
is  not  the  same  for  the
participating  as  for  the  non(cid:220)participating  Member
States,  Article  5  of  the  Statute  applies  to  both
participating  and  non(cid:220)participating  Member  States;
whereas  this,  together  with  Article  5  of  the  Treaty,
implies  an  obligation  to  design  and  implement  at
the  national 
they
in  order  to  carry  out  the
consider  appropriate 
collection  of  the  statistical  information  needed  to
fulfil  the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting  requirements
and  the  timely  preparations  in  the  field  of  statistics
in  order  for  them  to  become  participating  Member
States;

the  measures 

level  all 

that 

(18)(cid:217)Whereas  confidential  statistical  information  which
the  ECB  and  the  national  central  banks  must  obtain
for  the  performance  of  the  tasks  of  the  ESCB  must
be  protected  in  order  to  gain  and  maintain  the
confidence  of  the  reporting  agents;  whereas  once
this  Regulation  is  adopted  there  will  be  no  further
invoke  provisions  on  confidentiality
cause 
preventing  the  exchange  of  confidential  statistical
information  relating  to  the  tasks  of  the  ESCB,
subject  to  the  provisions  of  Directive  95/46/EC  of
the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of
24  October  1995  on  the  protection  of  individuals
with  regard  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  and
on  the  free  movement  of  such  data;

to 

(19)(cid:217)Whereas  Article  38.1  of  the  Statute  provides  that
members  of  the  governing  bodies  and  the  staff  of
the  ECB  and  the  national  central  banks  shall  be
required,  even  after  their  duties  have  ceased,  not  to
disclose  information  of  the  kind  covered  by  the
obligation  of  professional  secrecy,  and  Article  38.2
of  the  Statute  provides  that  persons  having  access
to  data  covered  by  Community  legislation  imposing
an  obligation  of  secrecy  shall  be  subject  to  such
legislation;

infringement  of  the  rules  binding
(20)(cid:217)Whereas  any 
members  of 
the  ECB,  whether
the 
staff  of 
committed  wilfully  or  through  negligence,  renders
them  liable  to  disciplinary  sanctions  and,  if  appro(cid:220)
violation  of
priate, 
professional 
the  combined
provisions  of  Articles  12  and  18  of  the  Protocol  on
the  privileges  and 
immunities  of  the  European
Communities;

legal  penalties 
secrecy, 

for 
subject 

the 
to 

(16)(cid:217)Whereas  under  Article  8  of  the  Protocol  (11)  on
certain  provisions  relating  to  the  United  Kingdom
of  Great  Britain  and  Northern  Ireland,  Articles  34.1
and  34.3  of  the  Statute  do  not  apply  to  the  United

(21)(cid:217)Whereas  the  possible  use  of  statistical  information
for  the  execution  of  the  tasks  of  the  ESCB,  while
reducing  the  overall  reporting  burden,  implies  that
in  this  Regu(cid:220)
the  confidentiality  regime  defined 

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lation  must  differ  to  some  extent  from  the  general
Community  and 
international  principles  on  stat(cid:220)
istical  confidentiality,  and  in  particular  from  the
provisions  on  statistical  confidentiality  in  Council
Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97  of  17  February  1997
on  Community  Statistics(cid:216)(˛);

2. reporting  agents:  shall  mean  the  legal  and  natural
persons  and  the  entities  referred  to  in  Article  3  of  this
Regulation  which  are  subject  to  the  ECB’s  statistical
reporting  requirements;

to 

the  ECB 

transmitted 

(22)(cid:217)Whereas  the  confidentiality  regime  defined  in  this
Regulation  applies  only  to  confidential  statistical
information 
the
performance  of  the  tasks  of  the  ESCB,  and  whereas
it  does  not  affect  special  national  or  Community
provisions  relating  to  the  transmission  of  other
types  of  information  to  the  ECB;  whereas  the  rules
on  statistical  confidentiality  applied  by  the  national
statistical 
information
institutes  on  the  statistical 
they  collect  on  their  own  behalf  must  be  respected;

for 

the  competent  authorities  of 

(23)(cid:217)Whereas,  for  the  purposes  of  Article  5.1  of  the
Statute,  the  ECB  is  required  to  cooperate  in  the
field  of  statistics  with  the  Community  institutions  or
bodies,  with 
the
Member  States  or  non(cid:220)member  countries  and  with
international  organisations;  whereas  the  ECB  and
the  Commission  will  establish  appropriate  forms  of
cooperation  in  the  field  of  statistics  in  order  to
carry  out  their  tasks  in  the  most  efficient  way,
trying  to  minimise  the  burden  on  reporting  agents;

their  entirety  have  adopted 

(24)(cid:217)Whereas  the  provisions  of  this  Regulation  can  only
be  effectively  applied  if  participating  Member  States
in 
the  necessary
measures  with  a  view  to  ensuring  that  their  auth(cid:220)
orities  have  the  powers  to  assist  and  collaborate
fully  with  the  ECB  in  carrying  out  the  verification
and  compulsory  collection  of  statistical  information
as  required  by  Article  6  of  this  Regulation,  in
conformity  with  Article  5  of  the  Treaty,

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  REGULATION:

Article  1

Definitions

For  the  purposes  of  this  Regulation:

1.(cid:217)the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting  requirements:  shall  mean
the  statistical  information  which  reporting  agents  are
required  to  provide  and  which  is  necessary  for  the
tasks  of  the  ESCB  to  be  performed;

(˛)(cid:217)OJ  L  52,  22.2.1997,  p.  1.

3. participating  Member  State:  shall  mean  a  Member
in

the  single  currency 

State  which  has  adopted 
accordance  with  the  Treaty;

interest 

4. resident  and  residing:  shall  mean  having  a  centre  of
economic 
in  the  economic  territory  of  a
country  as  described  in  Annex  A  of  this  Regulation;
in  this  context,  cross(cid:220)border  positions  and  cross(cid:220)border
transactions 
shall  mean  respectively  positions  and
transactions  in  the  assets  and/or  liabilities  of  residents
of  participating  Member  States  seen  as  one  economic
residents  of  non(cid:220)participating
territory  vis(cid:220){(cid:220)vis 
Member  States  and/or  residents  of  non(cid:220)member
countries;

5. international 

investment  positions: 

the
balance  sheet  of  the  stock  of  cross(cid:220)border  financial
assets  and  liabilities;

shall  mean 

6. electronic  money:  shall  mean  an  electronic  store  of
monetary  value  on  a 
including
prepaid  cards,  that  may  be  widely  used  for  making
payments  to  entities  other  than  the  issuer  without
necessarily  involving  bank  accounts  in  the  transaction,
but  acting  as  a  prepaid  bearer  instrument.

technical  device, 

Article  2

Reference  reporting  population

1.(cid:218)(cid:217)For  the  fulfilment  of  the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting
requirements,  the  ECB,  assisted  by  the  national  central
banks  in  accordance  with  Article  5.2  of  the  Statute,  shall
have  the  right  to  collect  statistical  information  within  the
limits  of  the  reference  reporting  population  and  of  what
is  necessary  to  carry  out  the  tasks  of  the  ESCB.

2.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  reference  reporting  population  shall  comprise
the  following  reporting  agents:

(a)(cid:217)legal  and  natural  persons 

"other 

financial 

falling  within 

the
subsectors  "central  bank’,  "other  monetary  financial
institutions’  and 
intermediaries,
except  insurance  corporations  and  pension  funds’  as
described  in  Annex  B  to  this  Regulation  and  residing
in  a  Member  State,  to  the  extent  necessary  to  fulfil
the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting  requirements  in  the
field  of  money  and  banking  statistics  and  payment
systems  statistics;

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(b) post  office  giro  institutions,  to  the  extent  necessary
to  fulfil  the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting  requirements
in  the  field  of  money  and  banking  statistics  and
payment  systems  statistics;

(c) legal  and  natural  persons  residing 

in  a  Member
State,  to  the  extent  that  they  hold  cross(cid:220)border
positions  or  carry  out  cross(cid:220)border  transactions  and
that  statistical  information  relating  to  such  positions
or  transactions  is  necessary  to  fulfil  the  ECB’s  stat(cid:220)
istical  reporting  requirements  in  the  field  of  balance
of  payments  statistics  or  the  international  investment
position;

to 

(d) legal  and  natural  persons  residing 
the  extent 

in  a  Member
information
State, 
relating  to  the  securities  or  the  electronic  money
issued  by  them  is  necessary  to  fulfil  the  ECB’s  stat(cid:220)
istical  reporting  requirements.

that  statistical 

in 

3.(cid:218)(cid:217)An  entity  that  would  otherwise  be  covered  by  the
definition 
the  previous  paragraph,  but  which
according  to  the  national  law  of  its  country  of  residence
is  neither  a  legal  person  nor  a  collection  of  natural
persons,  while  it  can  be  the  subject  of  rights  and  obli(cid:220)
gations,  shall  be  a  reporting  agent.  The  reporting  obli(cid:220)
gation  of  such  an  entity  shall  be  fulfilled  by  the  persons
legally  representing  it.  Where  a  legal  person,  collection
of  natural  persons  or  an  entity  as  referred  to  in  the  first
sentence  of  this  paragraph  has  a  branch  resident  in
another  country,  the  branch  shall  be  a  reporting  agent  in
its  own  right  irrespective  of  where  the  head  office  is
located  in  so  far  as  the  branch  satisfies  the  conditions
defined  in  paragraph  2,  with  the  exception  of  the  need  to
possess 
legal  personality.  Any  number  of
branches  set  up  in  the  same  Member  State  shall  be
regarded  as  a  single  branch  when  they  belong  to  the
same  subsector  of  the  economy.  The  reporting  obligation
of  a  branch  shall  be  fulfilled  by  the  persons  legally  repre(cid:220)
senting  it.

separate 

Article  3

Modalities  for  the  definition  of  statistical  reporting
requirements

its 

imposing 

statistical 

In  defining  and 
reporting
requirements  the  ECB  shall  specify  the  actual  reporting
population  within  the  limits  of  the  reference  reporting
population  as  defined  in  Article  2  of  this  Regulation.
Without  prejudice  to  the  fulfilment  of 
its  statistical
reporting  requirements,  the  ECB:

(a)(cid:217)shall  minimise 

the 

reporting  burden 

including  by  using  existing  statistics  as 
possible;

involved,
far  as

(b) shall  take  into  account  Community  and  international

statistical  standards;

(c) may 

fully  or  partly  exempt  specific  classes  of
reporting
its 

statistical 

from 

reporting  agents 
requirements.

Article  4

Obligations  of  Member  States

Member  States  shall  organise  themselves  in  the  field  of
statistics  and  shall  fully  cooperate  with  the  ESCB  in
order  to  ensure  the  fulfilment  of  the  obligations  arising
out  of  Article  5  of  the  Statute.

Article  5

Regulatory  power  of  the  ECB

1.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  ECB  may  adopt  regulations  for  the  definition
and  imposition  of  its  statistical  reporting  requirements  on
the  actual  reporting  population  of  participating  Member
States.

their 

respective 

2.(cid:218)(cid:217)To  guarantee  the  coherence  necessary  to  produce
statistics  meeting 
information
requirements,  the  ECB  shall  consult  the  Commission  on
draft  regulations  whenever 
the  statistical
requirements  of  the  Commission  exist.  The  Committee
on  Monetary,  Financial  and  Balance  of  Payments
Statistics 
its
competence,  in  the  process  of  cooperation  between  the
Commission  and  the  ECB.

take  part,  within 

links  with 

limits  of 

shall 

the 

Article  6

Right  of  verification  and  compulsory  collection  of
statistical  information

1.(cid:218)(cid:217)If  a  reporting  agent  residing 
in  a  participating
Member  State  is  suspected  of  an  infringement,  as  set  out
in  Article  7(2)  of  this  Regulation,  of  the  ECB’s  statistical
reporting  requirements,  the  ECB  and,  in  accordance  with
Article  5.2  of  the  Statute,  the  national  central  bank  of
the  participating  Member  State  concerned  shall  have  the
right  to  verify  the  accuracy  and  quality  of  the  statistical
information  and  to  carry  out  its  compulsory  collection.
However,  in  the  event  that  the  statistical  information
to  demonstrate
concerned 
compliance  with  minimum  reserve  requirements, 
the
verification  should  be  carried  out  in  accordance  with
Article  6  of  the  Council  Regulation  (EC)  concerning  the
application  of  minimum  reserves  by 
the  European
Central  Bank.  The  right  to  verify  statistical  information
or  to  carry  out  its  compulsory  collection  shall  comprise
the  right  to:

is  necessary 

in  order 

(a)(cid:217)require  submission  of  documents,

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(b) examine  the  books  and  records  of  the  reporting

agents,

with  the  obligations  resulting  from  this  Regulation  or
from  ECB 
regulations  or  decisions  defining  and
imposing  the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting  requirements.

(c) take  copies  or  extracts  from  such  books  and  records,

and

(d) obtain  written  or  oral  explanations.

statistical 

2.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  ECB  or  the  competent  national  central  bank
shall  notify  the  reporting  agent  in  writing  of  its  decision
it
to  verify 
compulsorily,  specifying  the  time  limit  for  compliance
with  the  verification  request,  the  sanctions  applicable  in
the  case  of  non(cid:220)compliance  and  the  right  to  review.  The
ECB  and  the  national  central  bank  concerned  shall
inform  each  other  of  such  verification  requests.

information  or 

to  collect 

3.(cid:218)(cid:217)For  the  verification  and  the  compulsory  collection
of  statistical  information,  national  procedures  shall  be
followed.  The  costs  of  the  procedure  shall  be  borne  by
the  reporting  agent  concerned  if  it  is  established  that  the
reporting  agent  has  breached 
reporting
requirements.

statistical 

4.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  ECB  may  adopt  regulations  specifying  the
conditions  under  which  the  right  to  verify  or  to  carry  out
the  compulsory  collection  of  statistical  information  may
be  exercised.

limits  of  their  competence,  national
5.(cid:218)(cid:217)Within  the 
authorities  of  participating  Member  States  shall  give  the
necessary  assistance  to  the  ECB  and  national  central
banks  in  the  exercise  of  the  powers  provided  for  in  this
Article.

statistical 

6.(cid:218)(cid:217)When  a  reporting  agent  opposes  or  obstructs  the
verification  process  or  the  compulsory  collection  of  the
participating
information, 
required 
Member  State  in  which  the  reporting  agent’s  premises
the  necessary  assistance,
are 
shall  afford 
including  ensuring  access 
the  reporting  agent’s
to 
premises  by  the  ECB  or  the  national  central  bank  so  that
the  rights  mentioned  in  paragraph  1  can  be  exercised.

located 

the 

Article  7

Imposition  of  sanctions

2.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  obligation 
statistical
information  to  the  ECB  or  to  the  national  central  banks
shall  be  deemed  to  have  been  infringed  if:

transmit 

certain 

to 

(a)(cid:217)no  statistical  information  is  received  by  the  ECB  or

national  central  bank  by  the  established  deadline,  or

(b) the  statistical  information  is  incorrect,  incomplete  or

in  a  form  not  complying  with  the  requirement.

3.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  obligation  to  allow  the  ECB  and  the  national
central  banks  to  verify  the  accuracy  and  quality  of  the
statistical  information  submitted  by  reporting  agents  to
the  ECB  or  national  central  bank  shall  be  deemed  to
have  been  infringed  whenever  a  reporting  agent  obstructs
this  activity.  Such  obstruction  includes,  but  is  not  limited
to,  the  removal  of  documents  and  prevention  of  physical
access  by  the  ECB  or  the  national  central  bank  which  is
necessary  for  them  to  carry  out  their  verification  task  or
compulsory  collection.

4.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  ECB  may  impose  sanctions  on  a  reporting
agent  as  follows:

(a)(cid:217)in  the  event  of  an  infringement  as  defined  in  Article
7(2)(a),  a  daily  penalty  payment  not  exceeding  EUR
10(cid:216)000,  with  the  total  fine  not  exceeding  EUR
100(cid:216)000;

(b) in  the  event  of  an  infringement  as  defined  in  Article

7(2)(b),  a  fine  not  exceeding  EUR  200(cid:216)000;

(c) in  the  event  of  an  infringement  as  defined  in  Article

7(3),  a  fine  not  exceeding  EUR  200(cid:216)000.

5.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  sanctions  set  out  in  Article  7(4)  of  this  Regu(cid:220)
lation  shall  be  additional  to  the  obligation  on  the
reporting  agent  to  meet  the  costs  of  the  verification  and
compulsory  collection  procedure  as  required  in  Article
6(3)  of  this  Regulation.

impose  the
1.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  ECB  shall  have  the  power  to 
sanctions  set  out  in  this  Article  on  reporting  agents
which  are  subject  to  reporting  requirements  and  residing
in  a  participating  Member  State  and  which  fail  to  comply

6.(cid:218)(cid:217)In  exercising  the  powers  provided  for  in  this  Article
the  ECB  shall  act  in  accordance  with  the  principles  and
procedures  as  set  out  in  the  Council  Regulation  (EC)
concerning  the  powers  of  the  European  Central  Bank  to
impose  sanctions.

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Article  8

Confidentiality  regime

1.(cid:218)(cid:217)Within  the  scope  of  this  Regulation  and  for  the
purposes  of  the  confidentiality  regime  covering  the  stat(cid:220)
istical  information  which  is  necessary  for  the  tasks  of  the
ESCB  to  be  performed,  statistical  information  shall  be
confidential  when  it  allows  reporting  agents  or  any  other
legal  person,  natural  person,  entity  or  branch  to  be
identified,  either  directly  from  their  name,  address  or
identification  code,  or
from  an  officially  allocated 
indirectly  through  deduction,  thereby  disclosing 
indi(cid:220)
vidual  information.  To  determine  whether  a  reporting
agent  or  any  other  legal  person,  natural  person,  entity  or
branch  is  identifiable,  account  shall  be  taken  of  all  the
means  that  might  reasonably  be  used  by  a  third  party  to
identify  the  said  reporting  agent  or  the  other 
legal
person,  natural  person,  entity  or  branch.  Statistical
information  taken  from  sources  which  are  available  to
the  public  in  accordance  with  national  law  is  not  confi(cid:220)
dential.

2.(cid:218)(cid:217)Transmission  from  the  national  central  banks  to  the
ECB  of  confidential  statistical 
information  shall  take
place  to  the  extent  and  at  the  level  of  detail  necessary  for
the  exercise  of  the  tasks  of  the  ESCB,  including  the
appropriate  monitoring  of  compliance  with  any  reserve
requirements  in  the  event  that  the  latter  are  established
on  the  basis  of  individual  statistical  information  collected
through  the  ECB’s  regulatory  power.

3.(cid:218)(cid:217)Reporting  agents  shall  be  informed  of  the  uses  to
which  statistical  information  provided  by  them  may  be
put.

4.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  ECB 
statistical
use 
information  transmitted  to  it  exclusively  for  the  exercise
of  the  tasks  of  the  ESCB  except:

confidential 

shall 

legislation  and  with  the  previous  explicit  consent  of
the 
the
authority  which 
information.

provided 

national 

5.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  national  central  banks  shall  use  the  confi(cid:220)
dential  statistical 
the
ECB’s  statistical  reporting  requirements  exclusively  for
the  exercise  of  the  tasks  of  the  ESCB  except:

information  collected 

fulfil 

to 

(a)(cid:217)if  the  reporting  agent  or  the  other  legal  person,
natural  person,  entity  or  branch  which  can  be
identified  has  explicitly  given  its  consent  to  the  use
of  the  said  statistical  information  for  other  purposes,
or

(b) if 

is  used  at  the  national 

following  an  agreement  between 
statistical  authorities  and 

level  for  statistical
it 
the
purposes 
national 
the  national
central  bank  or  for  the  production  of  Community
statistics  in  accordance  with  Article  9  of  Council
Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97,  or

(c) if  it  is  used  in  the  field  of  prudential  supervision  or
for  the  exercise  in  accordance  with  Article  14.4  of
the  Statute  of  functions  other  than  those  specified  in
the  Statute,  or

(d) for  granting  scientific  research  bodies  access 

to
confidential  statistical  information  which  does  not
allow  direct  identification.

6.(cid:218)(cid:217)This  Article  shall  not  prevent  confidential  statistical
in
information  collected  for  purposes  other  than,  or 
addition 
the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting
requirements  from  being  used  to  meet  those  other
purposes.

to,  meeting 

(a)(cid:217)if  the  reporting  agent  or  the  other  legal  person,
natural  person,  entity  or  branch  which  can  be
identified,  has  explicitly  given  its  consent  to  the  use
of  the  said  statistical  information  for  other  purposes,
or

7.(cid:218)(cid:217)This  Article  shall  apply  to  the  collection  and  trans(cid:220)
mission  of  confidential  statistical 
information  for  the
fulfilment  of  the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting  requirements;
it  shall  not  affect  special  national  or  Community
provisions  relating  to  the  transmission  of  other  types  of
information  to  the  ECB.

(b) for  the  production  of  specific  Community  statistics,
following  an  agreement  between  the  Commission
and  the  ECB  in  accordance  with  Article  9  of  Council
Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97  of  17  February  1997  on
Community  statistics(cid:216)(˛),  or

8.(cid:218)(cid:217)This  Regulation  shall  apply  without  prejudice  to
Directive  95/46/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of
the  Council  of  24  October  1995  on  the  protection  of
individuals  with  regard  to  the  processing  of  personal
data  and  on  the  free  movement  of  such  data.

(c)(cid:217)for  granting  specific  research  bodies  access  to  confi(cid:220)
dential  statistical  information  which  does  not  allow
direct  identification,  without  prejudice  to  national

(˛)(cid:217)Following  the  amendment  at  the  start  of  stage  three  to
"European

"European  Monetary 

Institute’  with 

replace 
Central  Bank’.

9.(cid:218)(cid:217)The  ECB  and  the  national  central  banks  shall  take
all  the  necessary  regulatory,  administrative,  technical  and
organisational  measures  to  ensure  the  protection  of
confidential  statistical  information.  The  ECB  shall  define
common  rules  and  minimum 
to  prevent
unlawful  disclosure  and  unauthorised  use.  The  protection

standards 

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measures 
information  as  defined  in  paragraph  1.

shall  apply 

to  all  confidential 

statistical

Article  9

Final  provisions

the  necessary
10.(cid:218)(cid:217)Member  States  shall  adopt  all 
measures  to  ensure  the  protection  of  confidential  stat(cid:220)
istical 
the
appropriate  enforcement  measures  by  the  Member  States
in  the  event  of  an  infringement.

imposition  of 

information, 

including 

the 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  1  January  1999.

This  Regulation  shall  be  binding 
directly  applicable  in  all  Member  States.

in 

its  entirety  and

ANNEX  A

THE  LIMITS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  ECONOMY

2.04.(cid:217)The  units,  whether 

institutional, 

local  kind(cid:220)of(cid:220)activity  or  of  homogeneous  production,  which
constitute  the  economy  of  a  country  and  whose  transactions  are  recorded  in  the  ESA,  are  those
which  have  a  centre  of  economic  interest  on  the  economic  territory  of  that  country.  These  units,
known  as  resident  units,  may  or  may  not  have  the  nationality  of  that  country,  may  or  may  not  be
legal  entities,  and  may  or  may  not  be  present  on  the  economic  territory  of  the  country  at  the  time
they  carry  out  a  transaction.  Having  thus  defined  the  limits  of  the  national  economy  in  terms  of
resident  units,  it  is  necessary  to  define  the  meaning  of  the  terms  economic  territory  and  centre  of
economic  interest.

2.05.(cid:217)The  term  economic  territory  means:

(a)(cid:217)the  geographic  territory  adminstered  by  a  government  within  which  persons,  goods,  services  and

capital  move  freely;

(b) any  free  zones,  including  bonded  warehouses  and  factories  under  customs  control;

(c) the  national  airspace,  territorial  waters  and  the  continental  shelf  lying  in  international  waters,

over  which  the  country  enjoys  exclusive  rights(cid:216)(˛);

(d) territorial  enclaves  i.e.  geographic  territories  situated  in  the  rest  of  the  world  and  used,  under
international  treaties  or  agreements  between  States,  by  general  government  agencies  of  the
country  (embassies,  consulates,  military  bases,  scientific  bases,  etc.);

(e) deposits  of  oil,  natural  gas,  etc.  in  international  waters  outside  the  continental  shelf  of  the
country,  worked  by  units  resident  in  the  territory  as  defined  in  the  preceding  subparagraphs.

2.06.(cid:217)The  economic  territory  does  not  include  extraterritorial  enclaves  i.e.  the  parts  of  the  country’s  own
geographic  territory  used  by  general  government  agencies  of  other  countries,  by  the  institutions  of
the  European  Union  or  by  international  organisations  under  international  treaties  or  agreements
between  States(cid:216)(ˇ).

(˛)(cid:217)Fishing  boats,  other  ships,  floating  platforms  and  aircraft  are  treated  in  the  ESA  just  like  any  other  mobile  equipment,
whether  owned  and/or  operated  by  units  resident  in  the  country,  or  owned  by  non(cid:220)residents  and  operated  by  resident
units.  Transactions  involving  the  ownership  (gross  fixed  capital  formation)  and  use  (renting,  insurance,  etc.)  of  this
type  of  equipment  are  attributed  to  the  economy  of  the  country  of  which  the  owner  and/or  operator  respectively  are
resident.  In  cases  of  financial  leasing  a  change  of  ownership  is  assumed.

(ˇ)(cid:217)The  territories  used  by  the  institutions  of  the  European  Union  and  international  organisations  thus  constitute  the
territories  of  States  sui  generis.  The  feature  of  such  States  is  that  the  only  residents  are  the  institutions  themselves  (see
paragraph  2.10(e)).

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2.07. The  term  centre  of  economic  interest  indicates  the  fact  that  there  exists  some  location  within  the
economic  territory  on,  or  from,  which  a  unit  engages,  and  intends  to  continue  to  engage,  in
economic  activities  and  transactions  on  a  significant  scale,  either  indefinetely  or  over  a  finite  but
long  period  of  time  (a  year  or  more).  It  follows  that  a  unit  which  carries  out  such  transactions  on
the  economic  territory  of  several  countries  is  deemed  to  have  a  centre  of  economic  interest  in  each
of  them.  The  ownership  of  land  and  buildings  within  the  economic  territory  is  deemed  to  be
sufficient  in  itself  for  the  owner  to  have  a  centre  of  economic  interest  there.

2.08. On  the  basis  of  these  definitions,  units  deemed  to  be  residents  of  a  country  can  be  subdivided  into:

(a)(cid:217)units  which  are  principally  engaged  in  production,  finance,  insurance  or  redistribution,  in  respect

of  all  their  transactions  except  those  relating  to  ownership  of  land  and  buildings;

(b) units  which  are  principally  engaged  in  consumption(cid:216)(˛),  in  respect  of  all  their  transactions  except

those  relating  to  ownership  of  land  and  buildings;

(c) all  units  in  their  capacity  as  owners  of  land  and  buildings  with  the  exception  of  owners  of
extraterritorial  enclaves  which  are  part  of  the  economic  territory  of  other  countries  or  are  States
sui  generis  (see  paragraph  2.06).

2.09.

In  the  case  of  units  which  are  principally  engaged  in  production,  finance,  insurance  or  redistribution,
in  respect  of  all  their  transactions  except  those  relating  to  ownership  of  land  and  buildings,  the
following  two  cases  may  be  dinstinguished:

(a)(cid:217)activity  conducted  exclusively  on  the  economic  territory  of  the  country:  units  which  carry  out

such  activity  are  resident  units  of  the  country;

(b) activity  conducted  for  a  year  or  more  on  the  economic  territories  of  several  countries;  only  that
part  of  the  unit  which  has  a  centre  of  economic  interest  on  the  economic  territory  of  the  country
is  deemed  to  be  a  resident  unit.  It  may  be:

1.(cid:217)either  an  institutional  resident  unit,  whose  activities  conducted  for  a  year  or  more  in  the  rest

of  the  world  are  excluded  and  treated  separately(cid:216)(ˇ),  or

2.(cid:217)a  notional  resident  unit,  in  respect  of  the  activity  conducted  in  the  country  for  a  year  or  more

by  a  unit  which  is  resident  in  another  country(cid:216)(—).

2.10.

In  the  case  of  units  which  are  principally  engaged  in  consumption,  except  in  their  capacity  as  owners
of  land  and  buildings,  households  which  have  a  centre  of  economic  interest  in  the  country  are
deemed  to  be  resident  units,  even  if  they  go  abroad  for  short  periods  (less  than  a  year).  They
include,  in  particular,  the  following:

(a)(cid:217)border  workers,  i.e.  people  who  cross  the  frontier  daily  to  work  in  a  neighbouring  country;

(b) seasonal  workers,  i.e.  people  who  leave  the  country  for  several  months,  but  less  than  a  year,  to

work  in  another  country  in  sectors  in  which  additional  manpower  is  needed  periodically;

(c) tourists,  patients,  students(cid:216)(—),  visiting  officials,  businessmen,  salesmen,  artists  and  crew  members

who  travel  abroad;

(˛)(cid:217)Consumption  is  not  the  only  possible  activity  of  households.  Households  may  as  entrepreneurs  engage  in  any  kind  of

economic  activity.

(ˇ)(cid:217)It  is  only  where  such  activity  is  carried  on  for  less  than  a  year  that  it  should  not  be  separated  from  the  activities  of  the
producer  institutional  unit.  This  may  also  be  done  where  the  activity,  though  conducted  for  a  year  or  more,  is  insig(cid:220)
nificant,  and  in  all  circumstances  for  the  installation  of  equipment  abroad.  But  a  unit  which  is  resident  in  another
country  and  which  is  carrying  out  a  construction  activity  in  the  country  for  a  duration  of  less  than  a  year  is  deemed  to
have  a  centre  of  economic  interest  on  the  economic  territory  of  the  country  if  the  output  of  the  construction  activity
constitutes  gross  fixed  capital  formation.  Such  a  unit  should  therefore  be  treated  as  a  notional  resident  unit.

(—)(cid:217)Students  are  always  treated  as  residents,  however  long  they  study  aborad.

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(d) locally  recruited  staff  working  in  the  extraterritorial  enclaves  of  foreign  governments;

(e) the  staff  of  the  institutions  of  the  European  Union  and  of  civilian  or  military  international

organisations  which  have  their  headquarters  in  extraterritorial  enclaves;

(f) the  official,  civilian  or  military  representatives  of  the  government  of  the  country  (including  their

households)  established  in  territorial  enclaves.

2.11. All  units  in  their  capacity  as  owners  of  land  and/or  buildings  which  form  part  of  the  economic
territory  are  deemed  to  be  resident  units  or  notional  resident  units  of  the  country  in  which  the  land
or  buildings  in  question  are  located.

ANNEX  B

SUBSECTOR:  THE  CENTRAL  BANK  (S.  121)

2.45. Definition:

The  subsector  "the  central  bank’  (S.  121)  consists  of  all  financial  corporations  and  quasi(cid:220)corporations
whose  principal  function  is  to  issue  currency,  to  maintain  the  internal  and  external  value  of  the
currency  and  to  hold  all  or  part  of  the  international  reserves  of  the  country.

2.46.(cid:217)The  following  financial  intermediaries  are  classified  in  subsector  S.  121:

(a)(cid:217)the  national  central  bank,  also  in  the  case  where  it  is  part  of  a  European  System  of  Central

Banks;

(b) central  monetary  agencies  of  essentially  public  origin  (e.g.  agencies  managing  foreign  exchange
or  issuing  currency)  which  keep  a  complete  set  of  accounts  and  enjoy  autonomy  of  decision  in
relation  to  central  government.  Mostly  these  activities  are  performed  either  within  central
government  or  within  the  central  bank.  In  these  cases  no  separate  institutional  units  exist.

2.47.(cid:217)Subsector  S.  121  does  not  include  agencies  and  bodies,  other  than  the  central  bank,  which  regulate

or  supervise  financial  corporations  or  financial  markets.

SUBSECTOR:  OTHER  MONETARY  FINANCIAL  INSTITUTIONS  (S.  122)

2.48. Definition:

The  subsector  "other  monetary  financial  institutions’  (S.  122)  consists  of  all  financial  corporations  and
quasi(cid:220)corporations,  except  those  classified  in  the  central  bank  subsector,  which  are  principally
engaged  in  financial  intermediation  and  whose  business  is  to  receive  deposits  and/or  close  substitutes
for  deposits  from  institutional  units  other  than  monetary  financial  institutions,  and,  for  their  own
account,  to  grant  loans  and/or  to  make  investments  in  securities.

2.49.(cid:217)The  monetary  financial  institutions  (MFIs)  comprise  the  subsector  "the  central  bank’  (S.  121)  and  the
subsector  "other  monetary  financial  institutions’  (S.  122),  and  coincide  with  the  monetary  financial
institutions  for  statistical  purposes  as  defined  by  the  EMI.

2.50.(cid:217)MFIs  cannot  be  described  simply  as  "banks’,  because  they  may  possibly  include  some  financial
corporations  which  may  not  call  themselves  banks,  and  some  which  may  not  be  permitted  to  do  so  in

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some  countries,  while  some  other  financial  corporations  describing  themselves  as  banks  may  not  in
fact  be  MFIs.  In  general,  the  following  financial  intermediaries  are  classified  in  subsector  S.  122:

(a)(cid:217)commercial  banks,  "universal  banks’,  "all(cid:220)purpose’  banks;

(b) savings  banks  (including  trustee  savings  banks  and  savings  banks  and  loan  associations);

(c) post  office  giro  institutions,  post  banks,  giro  banks;

(d) rural  credit  banks,  agricultural  credit  banks;

(e) cooperative  credit  banks,  credit  unions;

(f) specialised  banks  (e.g.  merchant  banks,  issuing  houses,  private  banks).

2.51.(cid:217)The  following  financial  intermediaries  may  also  be  classified  in  subsector  S.  122  where  it  is  their
business  to  receive  repayable  funds  from  the  public  whether  in  the  form  of  deposits  or  in  other  forms
such  as  the  continuing  issue  of  bonds  and  other  comparable  securities.  Otherwise,  they  should  be
classified  in  subsector  S.  123:

(a)(cid:217)corporations  engaged  in  granting  mortgages  (including  building  societies,  mortgage  banks  and

mortgage  credit  institutions);

(b) mutual  funds  (including  investment  trusts,  unit  trusts  and  other  collective  investment  schemes,

e.g.  undertakings  for  collective  investment  in  transferable  securities(cid:220)UCITS);

(c) municipal  credit  institutions.

2.52.(cid:217)Subsector  S.  122  does  not  include:

(a)(cid:217)holding  corporations  which  only  control  and  direct  a  group  consisting  predominantly  of  other
monetary  financial  institutions,  but  which  are  not  other  monetary  financial  institutions  them(cid:220)
selves.  They  are  classified  in  subsector  S.  123;

(b) non(cid:220)profit  institutions  recognised  as  independent  legal  entities  serving  other  monetary  financial

institutions,  but  not  engaged  in  financial  intermediation.

SUBSECTOR:  OTHER  FINANCIAL  INTERMEDIARIES,  EXCEPT  INSURANCE
CORPORATIONS  AND  PENSION  FUNDS  (S.  123)

2.53. Definition:

The  subsector  "other  financial  intermediaries  except  insurance  corporations  and  pension  funds’
(S.  123)  consists  of  all  financial  corporations  and  quasi(cid:220)corporations  which  are  principally  engaged  in
financial  intermediation  by  incurring  liabilities  in  forms  other  than  currency,  deposits  and/or  close
institutions,  or
substitutes  for  deposits  from 
insurance  technical  reserves.

institutional  units  other  than  monetary  financial 

2.54.(cid:217)Subsector  S.(cid:216)123 

includes  various  types  of  financial 

intermediaries  especially  those  which  are
predominantly  engaged  in  long(cid:220)term  financing.  In  most  cases  this  predominant  maturity  forms  the
basis  of  a  distinction  from  the  other  monetary  financial 
institutions  subsector.  Based  on  the
non(cid:220)existence  of  liabilities  in  the  form  of  insurance  technical  reserves,  the  borderline  with  the
insurance  corporations  and  pension  funds  subsector  can  be  determined.

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2.55.(cid:217)In  particular,  the  following  financial  corporations  and  quasi(cid:220)corporations  are  classified  in  subsector

S.  123  unless  they  are  MFIs:

(a)(cid:217)corporations  engaged  in  financial  leasing;

(b) corporations  engaged  in  hire  purchase  and  the  provision  of  personal  or  commercial  finance;

(c) corporations  engaged  in  factoring;

(d) security  and  derivative  dealers  (on  own  account);

(e) specialised  financial  corporations  such  as  venture  and  development  capital  companies,  export/

import  financing  companies;

(f) financial  vehicle  corporations,  created  to  be  holders  of  securitised  assets;

(g) financial  intermediaries  which  receive  deposits  and/or  close  substitutes  for  deposits  from  MFIs

only;

(h) holding  corporations  which  only  control  and  direct  a  group  of  subsidiaries  principally  engaged  in
financial  intermediation  and/or  in  auxiliary  financial  activities,  but  which  are  not  financial
corporations  themselves.

2.56.(cid:217)Subsector  S.(cid:216)123  does  not  include  non(cid:220)profit  institutions  recognised  as  independent  legal  entities
serving  other  financial  intermediaries  except  insurance  corporations  and  pension  funds,  but  not
engaged  in  financial  intermediation.