Guideline of the European Central Bank of 11 May 2000 on the statistical reporting requirements of the European Central Bank in the field of balance-of-payments statistics, the international reserves template and international investment position statistics (ECB/2000/4)
Date: 2000-05-11
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: European Central Bank, European System of Central Banks, balance of payments, exchange of information, financial statistics, foreign-exchange reserves

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/25

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

GUIDELINE OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 11 May 2000

on the statistical reporting requirements of the European Central Bank in the field of balance-of-
investment position
payments statistics, the international reserves template and international

statistics

(ECB/2000/4)

(2001/476/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 (hereinafter referred
to as the ‘Statute’), and in particular to Articles 5.1, 12.1 and
14.3 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

statistics, monthly statistics

For the fulfilment of its tasks, the European System of
Central Banks (ESCB) needs to compile comprehensive
and reliable monthly, quarterly and annual balance of
payment;
showing the
outstanding amount of reserve assets and annual inter-
national investment position statistics showing the main
items affecting monetary conditions and exchange
markets in the participating Member States, when the
latter are seen as one economic territory.

The Statute requires the European Central Bank (ECB),
assisted by the national central banks (NCBs), to collect
either
from the competent national authorities or
directly from economic agents the statistical information
necessary in order for it to undertake the tasks of the
ESCB. Article 5.2 of the Statute stipulates that the NCBs
shall carry out, to the extent possible, the tasks described
in Article 5.1 of the Statute.

According to recital 12 of Council Regulation (EC) No
2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collec-
tion of statistical information by the European Central
Bank (1), in the early years of the single currency area
statistical
cost-effectiveness may require
reporting requirements to be satisfied through trans-
itional procedures due to existing constraints on the
collection systems. This may imply in particular that, in

the ECB's

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

(4)

(5)

(6)

the case of the portfolio investment income account, the
portfolio investment account of the balance of payments
investment position, data on cross-
and international
border positions or transactions of
the participating
Member States seen as one economic territory may be
compiled using all positions or transactions between
residents of a participating Member State and residents
of other countries.

liabilities of

The present data on positions and transactions in the
residents or participating
assets and/or
Member States vis-à-vis residents of other participating
Member States will continue to be reported after the
start of stage III of economic and monetary union in
accordance with national requirements or established
in the early
practices. This information is necessary,
years of the single currency area, for the fulfilment of
the ECB's statistical requirements. This does not create
an additional reporting burden on the reporting popula-
tion.

international

The definitive geographical categorisation of counter-
investment
parts required in respect of
position data to be provided within the deadlines estab-
lished in Annex III of the present guideline shall be
defined by the ECB in the course of 2001. The deadline
and definitive geographical categorisation of counter-
parts required in respect of balance of payments data
shall be defined by the ECB in the course of 2001.

In some Member States, according to established
national practices, the actual reporting population does
not
to another competent
national statistical authority. In order to meet the statist-
ical requirements of the ECB, the NCBs of these Member

to the NCB but

report

L 168/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

statistical
States and the other competent national
authorities shall cooperate with each other as laid down
in Recommendation ECB/2000/5 of 11 May 2000 on
the statistical reporting requirements of the European
Central Bank in the field of balance of payments, inter-
national reserves and international investment position
statistics (1).

The transmission from the NCBs to the ECB of confiden-
tial statistical information shall take place to the extent
and in the detail necessary for the exercise of the tasks
of the ESCB. The confidentiality regime is laid down in
Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 and further
specified in Guideline ECB/1998/17 of 1 December
1998 on the statistical reporting requirements of the
European Central Bank in the field of balance of
payments and international
investment position statis-
tics (2).

It is necessary to set up a procedure to carry out tech-
nical amendments to the Annexes to this guideline in an
such amendments
effective manner, provided that
neither change the underlying conceptual
framework
nor affect the reporting burden, and account shall be
taken of the views of the Statistics Committee of the
ESCB when following this procedure. NCBs may
propose such technical amendments to the Annexes to
this guideline through the Statistics Committee.

In the light of further statistical progress achieved, the
need for an update of Guideline ECB/1998/17 has
arisen. This also provides an opportunity to carry out
technical amendments where necessary.

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

In accordance with Articles 12.1 and 14.3 of the Statute,
ECB guidelines form an integral part of Community law,

HAS ADOPTED THIS GUIDELINE:

Article 1

Definitions

For the purposes of this Guideline:

— ‘participating Member State’ shall mean a Member State
which has adopted the single currency in accordance with
the Treaty.

— ‘resident’ and ‘residing’ shall mean having a centre of
economic interest in the economic territory of a country, as
described in Annex A to Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/
98,

— ‘economic territory of the participating Member States’ shall
mean the participating Member States viewed as one
economic territory.

— ‘euro area’ shall mean the economic territory of the partici-

pating Member States, and the ECB,

— ‘eurosystem’ shall mean the NCBs of

the participating

Member States and the ECB,

(1) Not yet published in the Official Journal.
(2) OJ L 115, 4.5.1999, p. 47.

— ‘cross-border transaction’ shall mean any transaction that
creates or redeems, in full or in part, claims or debts or any
transaction that implies the transfer of a right over an
object between residents of participating Member States
seen as one economic territory and residents of nonpartici-
pating Member States and/or residents of third countries.
‘Cross-border positions’ shall mean the stock of financial
claims on and financial liabilities to residents of non-partici-
pating Member States and/or residents of third countries.
Cross-border positions shall also encompass land, other real
property and other immovable assets physically located
outside the economic territory of the participating Member
States and owned by residents of participating Member
States and/or located inside the economic territory of the
participating Member States and owned by residents of
nonparticipating Member States and/or residents of third
countries; and monetary gold and special drawing rights
(SDRs) owned by residents of participating Member States.
However, until 31 December 2005, to the extent necessary
for the compilation of the portfolio investment account and
the portfolio investment income account within the balance
of payments, and the portfolio investment account within
the international investment position statistics covering the
economic territory of the participating Member States, the
terms ‘cross-border positions’ and ‘cross-border transac-
tions’ also comprise positions and transactions in the assets
and/or liabilities of residents or participating Member States
vis-à-vis residents of other participating Member States,

— ‘reserve assets’ shall mean highly liquid, marketable and
creditworthy claims held by the eurosystem on residents of
non-participating Member States and/or residents of third
countries and denominated in currencies other than the
euro, plus gold,
reserve positions in the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and SDR holdings,

— ‘other foreign currency assets’ shall mean claims held by the
eurosystem on residents of participating Member States
denominated in currencies other than the euro and claims
on residents of non-participating Member States and/or
residents of third countries denominated in currencies other
than the euro, which do not meet the liquidity, market-
ability and creditworthiness criteria of reserve assets,

— ‘reserve-related liabilities’ shall mean predetermined and
contingent short-term net drains on the Eurosystem of a
kind similar to reserve assets and other foreign currency
assets of the eurosystem,

— ‘balance of payments’ shall mean the statistical statement
that reports with the appropriate breakdown cross-border
transactions during the period under review,

— ‘international reserves template’ shall mean the statistical
statement
that reports with the appropriate breakdown
stocks of reserve assets, other foreign currency assets and
reserve-related liabilities of the Eurosystem at a reference
date,

— ‘international

investment position’ shall mean the annual
balance sheet that reports with the appropriate breakdown
the stock of cross-border financial assets and liabilities at a
reference date.

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/27

Article 2

Statistical obligations of the NCBs

1.
The NCBs shall make available to the ECB data on the
cross-border transactions, stocks of reserve assets, other foreign
currency assets, reserve-related liabilities and cross-border posi-
tions necessary to enable the ECB to compile the aggregated
balance of payments, international reserves template and inter-
national investment position of the economic territory of the
participating Member States.

2.
The required statistical information shall be made avail-
able to the ECB as laid down in Annexes I, II and III to this
guideline, which conform to current international standards.
the IMF Balance of Payments
notably the fifth edition of
Manual (BPM5).

3.
The required statistical information shall be made avail-
able on the balance of payments for monthly, quarterly and
annual calendar periods, on the international reserves template
as at the end of the month under review and on the inter-
national investment position as at the end of the calendar year
under review.

Article 3

Timeliness

1.
Key items in the monthly balance of payments of the
economic territory of the participating Member States shall be
made available to the ECB by the close of business on the 30th
working day following the end of the month to which the data
relate.

2.
The quarterly detailed breakdown for the balance of
the participating
payments of
Member States shall be made available to the ECB within three
months of the end of the quarter to which the data relate.

the economic territory of

3.
The annual data of an aggregated balance of payments of
the economic territory of the participating Member States shall
be made available within three months of the end of the year
to which the data relate with the same breakdowns as for the
quarterly data.

The data on the international reserves template shall be
4.
made available to the ECB within three weeks of the end of the
month to which the data relate.

5.
The data on the international investment position shall be
made available to the ECB within nine months of the year-end
date to which the data relate.

The national collection of these data shall be organised

6.
with a view to meeting these deadlines.

The NCBs shall use the facility provided by the ESCB,
2.
which relies upon the telecommunications network (‘ESCB-
the electronic transmission of
Net’),
the balance of
for
payments,
international reserves template and international
investment position statistical information required by the ECB.
The statistical message format developed for this electronic
exchange of statistical information is the ‘Gesmes/CB’ format.
This requirement does not prevent the use of some other
means of transmitting statistical information to the ECB as an
agreed fallback solution.

Article 5

Quality of the statistical information

1. Without prejudice to the ECB's monitoring tasks as laid
down in Annex V to this guideline, the NCBs shall monitor the
quality and reliability of statistical information made available
to the ECB.

2.
This process may include the transmission of revisions
made by the NCBs: first, in order to include the latest assess-
ment of
thereby improving the
information,
quality; and, secondly, to ensure as far as possible consistency
between the corresponding balance of payments items for each
of the different frequencies.

the statistical

Article 6

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 7

Final provisions

1.

This guideline shall replace Guideline ECB/1998/17.

This guideline is addressed to the national central banks

2.
of participating Member States.

3.

This guideline shall enter into force on 11 May 2000.

This guideline shall be published in the Official Journal of

4.
the European Communities.

Article 4

Transmission standard

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 11 May 2000.

1.
The required statistical information shall be made avail-
able to the ECB in a form which meets the requirements as laid
down in Annex IV to this guideline.

On behalf of the Governing Concil of the
ECB

Willem F. DUISENBERG

L 168/28

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

ANNEX I

STATISTICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

1.

Balance of payments statistics

The European Central Bank (ECB) requires balance of payments statistics at three different frequencies: monthly,
quarterly and annually in respect of the corresponding reference calendar periods. As far as possible, they should be
consistent with other statistics provided for the conduct of monetary policy.

1.1. Monthly balance of payments statistics — key items

O b j e c t i v e

The objective is a monthly balance of payments of the economic territory of the participating Member States
showing the main items affecting monetary conditions and exchange markets.

R e q u i r e m e n t s

It is essential that the data are suitable for use in the calculation of the balance of payments of the economic territory
of the participating Member States.

For the purposes of monetary policy and foreign exchange operations, the ECB's requirement for monthly balance of
payments statistics is confined to broad categories of transactions or ‘key items’ (see Annex II, Table 1). The short
deadline for the provision of the monthly key items, their highly aggregated nature and their use for monetary policy
purposes and foreign exchange operations allow some departure from international guidelines (see Article 2(2) of
this guideline), where unavoidable. Recording on a full accruals or transactions basis is not required. In agreement
with the ECB, national central banks (NCBs) of the participating Member States may provide data on the current and
financial account on a settlement basis. Where necessary to meet the deadline, estimates or preliminary data will be
accepted.

The requirement for each broad category of transaction is assets and liabilities (or credits and debits for current
account items). In general this requires NCBs of the participating Member States. within external transactions, to
distinguish between transactions with residents of other participating Member States and transactions outside the
economic territory of the participating Member States, and the NCB of each Member State to do so consistently.
When membership of the euro area changes, the NCBs in the participating Member States are required to implement
the change in the definition of the country composition of the euro area from the date on which the change in
membership takes effect. Best estimates for historical data covering the enlarged euro area are requested from NCBs
of former participating Member States and the new participating Member State(s).

In order to permit a meaningful aggregation for the economic territory of the participating Member States on a
monthly basis in the area of portfolio investment, a split is required between transactions in securities issued by
residents of participating Member States and securities issued by residents of all other countries. For the purpose of
making this distinction, it is necessary to identify separately whether or not the issuer of the security is a resident of a
participating Member State. The net transactions in portfolio investment assets of the economic territory of the
participating Member States are compiled by aggregating reported net transactions in securities issued by non-resi-
dents. Net transactions in portfolio investment liabilities of the economic territory of the participating Member States
are compiled by consolidation of net transactions in total national liabilities and net transactions in securities issued
and purchased by residents of the participating Member States.

An analogous reporting requirement and compilation method for the aggregate are applied for portfolio investment
income.

1.2. Quarterly and annual balance of payments

O b j e c t i v e

The objective of the quarterly and annual balance of payments of the economic territory of the participating Member
States is to provide more detailed information to permit further analysis of eternal transactions. These statistics will
notably contribute to the financial accounts under preparation and to the joint publication of EU/euro area balance
of payments in cooperation with the Commission of the European Communities (Eurostat). A sector breakdown is
the basis for supplementing monetary policy analysis with a monetary presentation of the euro area balance of
payments statistics.

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/29

R e q u i r e m e n t s

Quarterly and annual balance of payments statistics required by the ECB conform to the greatest extent possible to
the standards set in international guidelines (see Article 2(2) of this guideline). The breakdown of quarterly and
annual balance of payments statistics required by the ECB is presented in Annex II, Table 2. Special European
harmonised concepts and definitions of the capital and financial account are set out in Annex III to this Guideline.

The breakdown of the quarterly/annual current account is similar to the requirement for the monthly figures. Only
key items are required for goods, services and transfer payments. For income, a more detailed breakdown is needed.

In the financial account, the requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) standard components of the
Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5) for the other investment item are simplified. This simplification includes the
removal of a distinction between loans and deposits on each side of the balance sheet, the removal of the maturity
breakdown and a change in the presentation of the breakdown (i.e. sector as first priority). This sectoral breakdown
is compatible but not identical with the BPMS where instruments have priority.

Member States are expected to distinguish in their quarterly and annual balance of payments statistics between
transactions with other participating countries and all other external transactions. As for the monthly data, a split
between transactions in securities issued by residents of participating Member States and securities issued by
residents of all other countries is required for quarterly and annual data in the areas of portfolio investment. The
same holds for the portfolio investment income.

For the balance of payments of the economic territory of the participating Member States, accrued investment
income data are required on a quarterly basis. In line with the system of national accounts, the BPM5 recommends
that interest should be recorded on an accruals basis. This recommendation affects the current account (investment
income) as well as the financial account.

2.

International reserves template

O b j e c t i v e

The objective is a monthly statement of the reserve assets, other foreign currency assets and reserve related liabilities
held by participating NCBs and the ECB following the presentation of the common IMF/Bank for International
Settlements (BIS) template on ‘International reserves and foreign currency liquidity’. This information complements
the data on reserve assets included in the euro area balance of payments and international investment position
statistics.

R e q u i r e m e n t s

Reserve assets of the euro area are highly liquid, marketable and creditworthy claims held by the ECB (‘pooled
reserves’) and the national central banks in participating Member States (‘unpooled reserve assets’) on non-residents
of the euro area and denominated in foreign currency (i.e. in currencies other than the euro), including gold, reserve
positions in the IMF and SDR holdings. They may include positions in financial derivatives. Reserve assets are
compiled on a gross basis without any netting-off of reserve-related liabilities. The breakdown of the data required
from the participating Member States is presented in Annex II, Table 3, section I.A.

Foreign currency denominated assets of the Eurosystem which do not meet this definition, namely claims on
residents of participating Member States and claims on residents of non-participating Member States which do not
meet the liquidity, marketability and creditworthiness criteria, are included under the ‘other foreign currency assets’
item of the international reserves template (Annex II, Table 3, Section I.B).

Euro-denominated claims on non-residents and balances in foreign currency held by governments of participating
Member States are not considered as reserve assets; such amounts are recorded as ‘other investment’ if they represent
claims on non-residents of the euro area.

In addition, information on predetermined and contingent short-term net drains of the eurosystem connected to
reserve assets and other foreign currency assets of the eurosystem, the ‘reserve-related liabilities’, is to be reported
under Annex II, Table 3, sections II to IV.

3.

International investment position statistics

O b j e c t i v e

The objective is an annual statement of the external assets and liabilities of the economic territory of the participating
Member States as a whole, for monetary policy and exchange market analysis. The ECB requires international
investment position statistics in respect of end-of calendar-year stock levels. This statistical information may also
assist in the compilation of balance of payments flows.

L 168/30

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

R e q u i r e m e n t s

The international investment position data required by the ECB conform to the greatest extent possible to the
standards set in international guidelines (see Article 2(2) of this guideline). The ECB compiles the international
investment position for the economic territory of the participating Member States as a whole. The breakdown of the
international investment position for the economic territory of the participating Member States is presented in
Annex II, Table 4.

The ECB may require items of particular significance for the conduct of monetary policy, specifically those items
within the other investment accounts which are currently provided to the BIS for its statistics on international
banking, on a quarterly basis.

The international investment position shows financial stocks at the end of the reference period, valued at end-period
prices. As such, part of the change in the value of stocks during the reference period will be due to the financial
transactions that have taken place and been recorded in the balance of payments. Likewise, part of the changes in
positions at the beginning and at the end of a given period will be caused by changes in the prices of the financial
assets and liabilities shown. In the event that stocks are denominated in currencies other than the unit of account
used for the international investment position, changes in the exchange rates vis-à-vis other currencies will also affect
the values of those stocks. Finally, any other change in stocks, which is not due to the abovementioned factors will
be considered as other adjustments.

A proper reconciliation between the financial flows and stocks of the economic territoty of the participating Member
States requires these changes in value owing to price, exchange rate changes and other adjustments to be reflected
separately.

However, for practical reasons, at the start of stage III of economic and monetary union, these changes will be shown
together as a lump sum under a single heading and the international investment position will be compiled on a net
basis relying on aggregate national data. In addition, specific rules may be applied for the valuation of equity capital
in direct investment, notably in the case of unquoted shares.

Coverage of the international investment position is as close as possible to that for quarterly/annual balance of
payments flows. The concepts, definitions and breakdowns are in line with those used for quarterly/annual balance
of payments flows. As far as possible, data on the international investment position should be considered with other
statistics, such as money and banking statistics, financial accounts and national accounts. These stocks encompass
direct investment position data compiled by the Commission of the European Communities (Eurostat).

Portfolio assets within the international investment position shall be compiled from pure stock data related to end-of
year holdings of equity and short- and long-term debt securities issued by non-euro area residents, separating each
category. The data requirements established by the ECB are fully consistent with those adopted for the IMF-coordi-
nated portfolio investment survey.

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/31

ANNEX II

REQUIRED BREAKDOWNS

Table 1

Monthly key items for the balance of payments of the euro area

Credit

Debit

Net

I. Current account

Goods

Services

Income

Compensation of employees

Investment income

— direct investment

— portfolio investment

— other investment

Current transfers

II. Capital account

III. Financial account

Direct investment

Abroad

— Equity

— reinvested earnings

— other capital

In the reporting economy

— equity

— reinvested earnings

— other capital

Portfolio investment

Equity securities

Debt securities

— bonds and notes

— money market instruments

Financial derivatives

Other investment

MFIs (excluding central banks)

— long-term

— short-term

General government

Monetary authorities

Other sectors

Reserve assets

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

Net assets

Net liabilities

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

national

national

national

national

national

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

national

extra

extra

extra

Net

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

national

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

‘extra’:

means transactions with non-residents of the euro area (for portfolio investment assets and related income it refers to the
residency of the issuers).
means cross-border transactions within the euro area.

‘intra’:
‘national’: means the amount of all cross-border transactions by residents of a Member State (used only in connection with liabilities on

portfolio investment accounts and the net balance of the financial derivatives accounts).

L 168/32

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

Table 2

Quarterly and annual balance of payments of the euro area

Credit

Debit

Net

I. Current account

Goods

Services

Income

Compensation of employees

Investment income

— direct investment

— income on equity

— income on debt (interest)

— Portfolio investment

— income on equity (dividends)

— income on debt (interest)

— bonds and notes

— money market instruments

— Other investment

Current transfers

II. Capital account

III. Financial account

Direct investment

Abroad

— Equity

(i) MFIs (excluding central banks)

(ii) other sectors

— reinvested earnings

(i) MFIs (excluding central banks)

(ii) other sectors

— other capital

(i) MFIs (excluding central banks)

(ii) other sectors

In the reporting economy

— equity

(i) MFIs (excluding central banks)

(ii) other sectors

— reinvested earnings

(i) MFIs (excluding central banks)

(ii) other sectors

— other capital

(i) MFIs (excluding central banks)

(ii) other sectors

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

Net assets

Net liabilities

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

national

national

national

national

national

extra

extra

extra

Net

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/33

Net assets

Net liabilities

Net

national

national

—

—

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

Portfolio investment

Equity securities

(i) monetary authorities

(ii) general government

(iii) MFIs (excluding central banks)

(iv) other sectors

Debt securities

— bonds and notes

(i) monetary authorities

(ii) general government

(iii) MFIs (excluding central banks)

(iv) other sectors

— money market instruments

(i) monetary authorities

(ii) general government

(iii) MFIs (excluding central banks)

(iv) other sectors

Financial derivatives

(i) Monetary authorities

(ii) General government

(iii) MFIs (excluding central banks)

(iv) Other sectors

Other investment

(i) Monetary authorities

— loans/currency and deposits

— other assets/liabilities

(ii) General government

— trade credits

— loans/currency and deposits

— other assets/liabilities

(iii) MFIs (excluding central banks)

— loans/currency and deposits

— other assets/liabilities

(iv) Other sectors

— trade credits

— loans/currency and deposits

— other assets/liabilities

Reserve assets

Monetary gold

Special drawing rights

Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund
(IMF)

Foreign exchange

— currency and deposits

— with monetary authorities

— MFIs (excluding central banks)

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

national

national

national

national

national

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

L 168/34

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

Net assets

Net liabilities

Net

— securities

— equities

— bonds and notes

— money market instruments

— financial derivatives

Other claims

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

Table 3

Monthly international reserves of the Eurosystem; reserve-related liabilities of the euro area

I. Official reserve assets and other foreign currency assets (approximate market value)

A. Official reserve assets

1. Foreign currency reserves (in convertible foreign currencies)

(a) Securities, of which:

— issuer headquartered in the euro area

(b) total currency and deposits with:

(i) other national central banks, Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and IMF
(ii) banks headquartered in the euro area and located abroad
(iii) banks headquartered and located outside the euro area

2. IMF reserve position

3. SDRs

4. gold (including gold deposits and gold swaps)

5. other reserve assets

(a) financial derivatives

(b) loans to non-bank non-residents

(c) other

B. Other foreign currency assets

(a) securities not included in official reserve assets

(b) deposits not included in official reserve assets

(c) loans not included in official reserve assets

(d) financial derivatives not included in official reserve assets

(e) gold not included in official reserve assets

(f) other

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/35

II. Predetermined short-term net drains on foreign currency assets (nominal value)

L 168/36

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

III. Contingent short-term net drains on foreign currency assets (nominal value)

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/37

IV. Memo items

1. To be reported with standard periodicity and timeliness:

(a) short-term domestic currency debt indexed to foreign exchange rates

(b) financial instruments denominated in foreign currency and settled by other means (e.g. in domestic currency)

— non-deliverable forwards
(i) short positions
(ii) long positions
— other instruments

(c) pledged assets

— included in reserve assets
— included in other foreign currency assets

(d) securities lent and on repo

— lent or repoed and included in Section I
— lent or repoed but not included in Section I
— borrowed or acquired but not included in Section I
— borrowed or acquired but not included in Section I

(e) financial derivative assets (net, marked to market)

— forwards
— futures
— swaps
— options
— other

(f) derivatives (forward, futures or options contracts) that have a residual maturity greater than one year, which

are subject to margin calls.
— aggregate short and long positions in forwards and futures in foreign currencies vis-à-vis the domestic

currency (including the forward leg of currency swaps)
(i) short positions
(ii) long positions

— aggregate short and long positions of options in foreign currencies vis-à-vis the domestic currency

(i) short positions
— bought puts
— written calls

(ii) long positions

— bought calls
— written puts

2. To be disclosed less frequently (e.g. once a year):

(a) currency composition of reserves (by groups of currencies)

— currencies in SDR basket
— currencies not included in SDR basket

L 168/38

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

Table 4

Annual international investment position of the euro area

Assets

Liabilities

Net

I. Direct investment

Abroad

— Equity and reinvested earnings

i) MFIs (excluding central banks)

ii) Other sectors

— Other capital

i) MFIs (excluding central banks)

ii) Other sectors

In the reporting economy

— Equity and reinvested earnings

i) MFIs (excluding central banks)

ii) Other sectors

— Other capital

i) MFIs (excluding central banks)

ii) Other sectors

II. Portfolio investment

Equity securities

i) Monetary authorities

ii) General government

iii) MFIs (excluding central banks)

iv) Other sectors

Debt securities

— Bonds and notes

i) Monetary authorities

ii) General government

iii) MFIs (excluding central banks)

iv) Other sectors

— Money market instruments

i) Monetary authorities

ii) General government

iii) MFIs (excluding central banks)

iv) Other sectors

III. Financial derivatives

i) Monetary authorities

ii) General government

iii) MFIs (excluding central banks)

iv) Other sectors

IV. Other investment

i) Monetary authorities

— Loans/currency and deposits

— Other assets/liabilities

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra/intra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

national

—

—

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

national

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/39

Assets

Liabilities

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

ii) General government

— Trade credits

— Loans/currency and deposits

— Other assets/liabilities

iii) MFIs (excluding central banks)

— Loans/currency and deposits

— Other assets/liabilities

iv) Other sectors

— Trade credits

— Loans/currency and deposits

— Other assets/liabilities

V. Reserve assets

Monetary gold

Special drawing rights

Reserve position in the IMF

Foreign exchange

— Currency and deposits

— With monetary authorities

— With MFIs (excluding central banks)

— Securities

— Equities

— Bonds and notes

— Money market instruments

— Financial derivatives

Other claims

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

Net

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

extra

it refers to the

International positions for end-1999 and end-2000 should refer to ‘national data’.
‘extra’:

means positions with non-residents of the euro area (for portfolio investment assets and related income,
residency of the issuers);
means cross-border positions within the euro area;

‘intra’:
‘national’: means the amount of all cross-border positions by residents of a Member State (used only in connection with liabilities on

portfolio investment accounts and the net balance of the financial derivatives accounts).

L 168/40

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

ANNEX III

CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS TO BE USED IN THE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS STATISTICS,
INTERNATIONAL RESERVES TEMPLATE AND INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT POSITION STATISTICS TO
BE REPORTED TO THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

In order to construct meaningful aggregated external statistics for the economic territory of the participating Member
States, concepts and definitions have been defined in the field of balance of payments statistics (income, capital and
financial accounts), the international reserves template and international investment position statistics. These requirements
are based on the ‘Implementation package’ (July 1996) and additional documents endorsed by the Governing Council of
the European Central Bank (ECB). Current international standards, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) balance
of payments recommendations (Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5), IMF/Bank for International Settlements template on
international reserves and foreign currency liquidity), have been used as a reference in formulating these concepts and
definitions. The most important harmonisation proposals are listed below. Further guidance is available in the corre-
sponding reports to which reference codes are provided in brackets. The reports referred to do not form part of the legal
text.

1. Concepts and definitions of selected items

1.1. Investment income (ST/SC/BP/INCO9801)

D e f i n i t i o n

Investment income incorporates income derived from a resident entity's ownership of a foreign financial asset and,
symmetrically,

income derived from a non-resident entity's ownership of a domestic financial asset.

C o v e r a g e

Investment income includes receipts and payments on direct investment, portfolio investment and other investment
income and receipts on reserve assets. The requirements for monthly key items, in addition to quarterly and annual
balance of payments, are almost identical to IMF standard components as defined in the BPM5. The main difference
is that the ECB does not require a breakdown of direct investment income on equity into distributed and
undistributed profits.

T i m e o f

r e c o r d i n g

Interest income is recorded on an accruals basis (this is not required for the monthly data). Dividends are recorded as
of the date on which they become payable.

1.2. Capital account (STA/WGS/BOP/CAPITAL96)

D e f i n i t i o n

The definition of the capital account covers capital transfers and the acquisition/disposal of non-produced non-finan-
cial assets. Current transfers are to be recorded in the current account.

C o v e r a g e

The standard components of the capital account consist of a sectoral breakdown into the items general government
and other sectors, with a further breakdown thereafter. The ECB will compile only a lump-sum capital account,
within which no breakdown is required. The separation between current and capital transfers is important and
generally depends,

in practice, on the use of the transfer by the recipient country.

1.3. Direct investment (STA/WGS/BOP/DI95)

D e f i n i t i o n

According to international standards (IMF/OECD), ownership of 10 % or more of the equity of an enterprise
indicates the existence of a long-term interest on the part of the direct investor and therefore constitutes a direct
investment relationship. The relationship based on this criterion can exist directly between two entities or indirectly
via a third entity being itself in a direct investment relationship with the two others. As a consequence, a direct
investment relationship can exist between a number of related enterprises, whether the linkages involve a single
chain or a number of chains. It can extend to indirect relationships. such as to direct investment enterprise's
subsidiaries, sub-subsidiaries and associates as well as to fellow subsidiaries (sister companies).

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/41

C o v e r a g e

Special purpose entities (SPEs) are considered as regular direct investors and/or direct investment enterprises. Those
NCBs of the participating Member States that are not in a position to follow this recommendation provide data on
SPEs separately. In order to avoid discrepancies and in line with both the recommendations of the IMF and
Eurostat/OECD guidelines, direct investment relationships are recorded using the ‘directional’ principle. In order to
achieve consistency in the compilation of reinvested earnings, the calculation method and the time of recording are
including trade credits, are regarded as direct investment capital.
agreed.

Intercompany financial transactions,

1.4. Portfolio investment (STA/WGS/BOP/PORT95)

D e f i n i t i o n

The euro area portfolio investment account includes (i) equity securities; and (ii) debt securities in the form of bonds
and notes and money market instruments. unless they are categorised either as direct investment or as reserve assets.
Financial derivatives as well as repurchase agreements and bond lending are excluded from portfolio investment.

C o v e r a g e

The equity securities item covers all instruments representing claims on the residual value of incorporated enterprises
after the claims of all creditors have been met. Shares, stocks, preferred stock or shares, participation, or similar
documents usually denote ownership of equity. Transactions/holdings of shares of collective investment institutions,
for exemple investment funds, are also included.

Bonds and notes are, in principle, securities issued with an initial maturity of more than one year which usually give
the holder (i) the unconditional right to a fixed monetary income or contractually determined variable monetary
income (payment of interest being independent of the earnings of the debtor), and (ii) the unconditional right to a
fixed sum in repayment of principal on a specified date or dates.

Unlike bonds and notes, money market instruments are securities issued with an initial maturity of less than or equal
to one year. They generally give the holder the unconditional right to receive a stated, fixed sum of money on a
specified date. These instruments are usually traded, at a discount, in organised markets; the discount is dependent
on the interest rate and the time remaining to maturity.

T i m e o f

r e c o r d i n g

The recording of transactions in financial items takes place when both creditor and debtor enter the claim and
liability, respectively,

in their books (in accordance with the BPM5).

Recommendations for methods of recording the balance of payments on a full accruals basis have been agreed
(STA/WGS/BOP/ACC9711). For the balance of payments of the economic territory of the participating Member
States, accrued investment income is required only on a quarterly and annual basis. Recording on a full accruals basis
is not a requirement for the monthly key items balance of payments.

1.5. Financial derivatives (April 1997, October 1997, April 1998: STA/WG/BOP/SG59802)

D e f i n i t i o n

Financial derivatives are financial
indicator or
commodity, and through which specific financial risks can be traded in financial markets in their own right.
Transactions in financial derivatives are treated as separate transactions rather than as integral parts of the value of
underlying transactions to which they may be linked.

instruments that are linked to a specific financial

instrument,

C o v e r a g e

Transactions and positions in options, futures, swaps, forward foreign exchange contracts, credit derivatives and
embedded derivatives are recorded in the balance of payments, international reserves and international investment
position.

Initial margin payments are regarded as changes in deposits and should be recorded, if identifiable, in the other
investment account. The treatment of variation margin payments depends on the form of the variation margin;
if
options-style variation margins are regarded,
identifiable, under the item ‘other investment’. Futures-style variation margin payments are regarded, in principle, as
transactions in derivatives and should be recorded in the financial derivatives account.

in principle, as changes in deposits and should be recorded,

In the case of options, the full premium (i.e. the purchase/sale price of the options and the implied service charge)
should be recorded as financial derivatives.

L 168/42

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

The net stream of settlement flows associated with interest rate derivatives should be recorded as financial
derivatives.

Embedded derivatives should be recorded together with the underlying financial instrument and should not be
recorded and valued separately in balance of payments, international reserves and international investment position
statistics.

The classification of specific instruments of credit derivatives should be decided upon on a case-by-case basis.

The valuation of financial derivatives should be conducted on a market-to-market basis.

T i m e o f

r e c o r d i n g

The recording of transactions in financial items takes place when both creditor and debtor enter the claim and
in their books (in accordance with the BPM5). Owing to practical problems involved in
liability, respectively,
separating the asset and liability flows in a meaningful way for some derivative instruments, all financial derivatives
transactions in the balance of payments of the economic territory of the participating Member States are being
recorded on a net basis for the time being. Financial derivative asset and liability positions in the international
investment position statistics are recorded on a gross basis, with the exception of those financial derivatives falling
into the category of reserve assets, which are recorded on a net basis.

1.6. Other investment (STA/WG/BOP/OTH95)

D e f i n i t i o n

Other investment is defined as a residual category that includes all financial transactions not covered in direct
investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives or reserve assets accounts.

C o v e r a g e

Other investment covers trade credits, loans/currency and deposits and other assets/other liabilities (in accordance
with the BPM5).

Balances and transactions between NCBs arising from operations settled via Target are to be recorded on a net basis
under the asset side of loans and deposits of other investment of monetary authorities.

The accounting practice of banks is the guiding principle for the balance of payments treatment of repurchase
agreements, sell/buy-back transactions and bond lending, rather than the ‘transfer of ownership’ criterion. Where
there is no accepted international accounting standard, a common practice, which would meet statistical needs, is
adopted in agreement with the ECB. This recommendation leads to the recording of genuine repurchase agreements,
sell/buy-back transactions and bond lending as collateralised loans.

T i m e o f

r e c o r d i n g

The principles of ‘transfer of ownership’,
recommendations.

‘time of settlement’, and ‘time of payment’ all conform to the IMF

In order to achieve consistent aggregate data for the economic territory of the participating Member States, no
distinction is made between loans and deposits within each sector and no maturity breakdown is used. A sectoral
presentation of the breakdown, compatible with the IMF standard components, is used in quarterly and annual data.
Member States may add detail

in national statistics.

For the monthly key items, a split between short-term and long-term flows in the banking sector is required.

1.7. Reserve assets

D e f i n i t i o n

In line with BPM5 recommendations, reserve assets of the euro area are highly liquid, marketable and creditworthy
claims held by the ECB (‘pooled reserves’) and the participating NCBs (‘unpooled reserve assets’) on non-residents of
the euro area and denominated in foreign currency (i.e. in currencies other than the euro), plus gold reserve positions
in the IMF and SDR holdings. Related assets of the ECB and the participating NCBs which do not meet this
definition, namely eurodenominated claims on non-residents and foreign currency denominated claims on residents
of the euro area; for example, deposits denominated in foreign currency placed with banking institutions resident in
the euro area, are therefore not treated in external statistics as reserve assets of the euro area. Nor are balances in
foreign currency held by governments of participating Member States considered to be reserve assets.

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/43

C o v e r a g e

Transactions and positions on reserve assets of the euro area are presented in the euro area balance of payments and
international investment position, respectively. The presentation follows the BPM5 standard components although a
separate category for financial derivatives has been introduced, in accordance with the outline adopted by the IMF.
Holdings of reserve assets, including gold holdings, should be valued in the international investment position using
closing mid-market prices at the end of the appropriate periods and converted into euro using the closing
mid-market exchange rates prevailing on the last day of the reference period; transactions in reserves should be
recorded in the balance of payments at the market price at the time of the transaction and converted into euro using
the market exchange rates at the time of the transaction. Income on reserve assets is to be recorded indistinguishably
under the ‘other investment’ item of the investment income account, including interest income on reserve holdings
of debt securities, and on an accruals basis at least quarterly. Reserve assets in the balance of payments and
international
investment position statements are to be reflected on a gross basis without any netting-off of
reserve-related liabilities, except for financial derivatives where net recording is to be applied.

The concept that usable reserves might be a more important indicator of a country's ability to meet its foreign
exchange obligations than gross reserves as shown in the balance of payments and international investment position
statements gained in importance and has been adopted in the IMF's Special Data Dissemination Standard. To
calculate usable reserves, data on gross reserves need to be supplemented with information about other foreign
currency assets and reserve-related liabilities. Accordingly, monthly data on (gross) reserve assets of the Eurosystem
are supplemented with information on other foreign currency assets and predetermined and contingent short-term
net drains on the gross reserve assets classified according to residual maturity. Moreover, a currency split between
gross reserve assets denominated in SDR currencies (in total) and other currencies (in total) with a quarter's lag is also
required.

Regarding specific items, holdings of monetary gold should remain unchanged in all reversible gold transactions
(gold swaps, repos,
loans and deposits). Repo transactions in foreign-currency denominated securities result in
increases in the total amount of the reserve assets of the cashborrowing NCB owing to the fact that the securities
repoed still remain on the balance sheet; in the case of reverse repos, the cash-lending monetary authority does not
register any variation in the total amount of reserve assets if the non-resident counterpart is another monetary
authority or financial institution, owing to the fact that the claim on the cash borrower is then regarded as a reserve
asset.

2.

Implementation methods for geographical allocation (STA/WGS/BOP/GEO96)

Difficulties in the compilation of geographically broken down balance of payments and international investment
position statistics are resolved by means of a step-by-step approach. This approach involves three steps towards
the
meeting data requirements, which are progressively more demanding. The portfolio investment account,
portfolio investment income account and the financial derivatives account respectively deserve special attention.

2.1. General approach (to be applied for all accounts of the balance of payments and international investment position — with the

exceptions listed below)

S t e p 1

Compilation method at the euro area level: addition of national total net transactions/positions.

Implemented since 1999 for international

investment positions.

S t e p 2

Compilation method at the euro area level: separate addition of transactions/positions with non-residents for credits
and debits or net assets and net liabilities (balance of payments)/assets and liabilities (international
investment
position).

Data requirements at the NCB level: separate identification of transactions/positions between residents of the
participating Member States and non-euro area residents.

Implemented for balance of payments: since Januanry 1999.

Deadline for implementation for international
end-2001.

investment position: end-September 2002 — data referring to

L 168/44

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

S t e p 3

Compilation method at the euro area level and data requirements at the Member State level: similar to Step 2 with
the addition of a geographical breakdown within extra-euro area transactions/positions. This is only necessary for
quarterly and annual statistics.

Deadline for implementation for international
end-2003.

investment position: end-September 2004 — data referring to

2.2. Portfolio investment account

S t e p 1

Compilation method at the euro area level: addition of national total net portfolio investment transactions/positions.

Implemented since 1999 for international

investment position.

S t e p 2

Compilation method at the euro area level: addition of net transactions/positions in securities issued by non-residents
for portfolio investment assets. Consolidation of net transactions/positions in total national liabilities and transac-
tions/positions in securities issued and purchased by residents of the participating Member States for portfolio
investment liabilities.

Data requirements at the NCB level: Transactions/positions in portfolio investment assets broken down into
transactions/positions in euro area securities issued by residents of participating Member States and other securities.
To achieve this it is necessary to identify the issuer (debtor) of the security in order to establish whether the issuer is
a resident of one of the participating Member States or a non-resident. For transactions/positions in portfolio
investment liabilities, only national total net figures are required.

Portfolio investment positions within the international investment position shall be compiled on the basis of pure
stock data related to end-of year holdings of equity and short and long-term debt securities issued by non-euro area
residents, taking advantage of the fact that the data requirements established by the ECB are fully consistent with
participation in the IMF coordinated portfolio investment survey.

Implemented for portfolio investment transactions since January 1999.

Deadline for implementation for portfolio investment stocks: end-September 2002 — data referring to end-2001.

S t e p 3

Compilation method at the euro area level and data requirements at the NCB level: similar to Step 2 with the
addition of a geographical breakdown (as yet unspecified) within extra-euro area transactions/positions on the asset
side. No geographical breakdown into extra-euro area transactions/position is required for the liabilities side. Step 3
only applies to quarterly and annual statistics on transactions and annual statistics on positions.

Deadline for implementation for portfolio investment positions (asset side only): end-September 2004 — data
referring to end-2003.

2.3. Portfolio investment income account

S t e p 1

Compilation method at the euro area level: addition of national total net investment income transactions.

S t e p 2

Compilation method at the euro area level: addition of income credit transactions derived from portfolio investment
assets issued by non-residents. Consolidation of income debit transactions derived from total national net liabilities
and credit transactions derived from securities issued by residents of the participating Member States.

Data requirements at the NCB level: credit transactions in portfolio investment income broken down into transac-
tions derived from securities issued by residents of participating Member States and from securities issued by
residents of other countries. To achieve this it is necessary to identify the issuer (debtor) of the security in order to
establish whether the issuer is a resident of one of the participating Member States or a non-resident. For debit
transactions derived from portfolio investment liabilities, only national total figures are required.

Implemented since January 2000.

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/45

S t e p 3

Compilation method at the euro area level and data requirements at the NCB level: similar to Step 2 with the
addition of a geographical breakdown within extra-euro area credit transactions. No geographical breakdown into
extra-euro area income transactions is required for the debit side. Step 3 is only necessary for quarterly and annual
statistics.

2.4. Financial derivatives account

Transactions

S t e p 1

The requirements for transactions in financial derivatives with extra-euro area counterparts only comprise a net
presentation of this item.

Compilation method at the euro area level: addition of national total net transactions in financial derivatives.

Positions

S t e p 1

Compilation method at the euro area level: addition of national total net positions in financial derivatives.

Implemented since 1999.

S t e p 2

Compilation method at the euro area level: separate addition of net positions in financial derivatives with non-resi-
dents on the asset and liabilities side.

Data requirements at the NCB level: separate identification of positions between residents of the participating
Member States and positions with residents of other countries (non-euro area) as defined by the location of the
market where relevant, or the actual counterpart for over-the-counter financial derivatives.

Deadline for implementation: end-September 2002 — data referring to end-2001.

S t e p 3

A geographical breakdown within extra-euro area positions in financial derivatives. This is only necessary for
quarterly and annual statistics.

3. Classification by institutional sector in the euro area aggregates

The sector breakdown of euro area aggregates comprises monetary authorities, general government, monetary
financial

institutions (MFIs) and other sectors of the euro area.

Monetary authorities

The ‘monetary authorities’ sector of the euro area statistics consists of the eurosystem, i.e. the ECB and the NCBs of
participating Member States.

General government

The ‘general government’ sector of the euro area statistics is consistent with the definition of that sector in the SNA
93 and ESA 95 and thus comprises the following units:

— central government,

— State/regional government,

— local government,

— social security funds.

MFIs excluding monetary authorities

This sector coincides with the MFI sector for money and banking statistics (excluding monetary authorities). It
comprises:

(i) credit institutions as defined by Community law, i.e. undertakings whose business is to receive deposits or other
repayable funds from the public (including the proceeds arising from the sales of bank bonds to the public) and
to grant credit for their own account; and

L 168/46

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.6.2001

(ii) all other resident financial institutions whose business is to receive deposits and/or close substitutes for deposits
from entities other than MFIs, and, for their own account (at least in economic terms), to grant credits and/or to
make investments in securities.

Other sectors

The ‘other sectors’ category of the euro area statistics comprises a variety of institutional units, mainly:
(i) other financial institutions not included in the MFI definition, such as collective investment institutions not
deemed to be money market funds, real estate investment institutions, securities dealers, mortgage credit
institutions,

insurance companies, pension funds and financial auxiliaries; and

(ii) non-financial institutions, such as public and private non-financial enterprises, non-profit institutions serving

households, and households.

23.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 168/47

ANNEX IV

TRANSMISSION OF THE DATA TO THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

The exchange of the statistical information needed by the European Central Bank (ECB) relies on the facility provided by
the ESCB-Net. All exchanges of data within the ESCB use the same conceptual data model.

in particular with regard to the following items.

National central banks shall observe the recommendations listed below in order to ensure that data transmission functions
satisfactorily,
— completeness: national central banks shall report all required series keys. To report series keys or non-listed series keys
would be considered as incomplete reporting. Should an observation be missing, the omission shall be recorded using
the corresponding observation status flag. In addition, when revisions are made to only a sub-set of series keys, the
validation rules should be applied to the whole balance of payments,

— sign convention: the data transmission of national central banks to the ECB as well as the European Commission
(Eurostat) follows a uniform sign convention for all data which are to be reported. Under this sign convention, credits
and debits in the current and capital account must be reported with a plus (+) sign, whilst net balances are to be
calculated and reported as credits minus debits. In the financial account, decreases in net assets/increase in net
liabilities must be reported with a plus (+) sign, whereas increases in net assets/decreases in net liabilities must be
reported with a minus (–) sign. Net balances are to be calculated and reported as net changes in assets plus net
changes in liabilities.
In transmitting international investment position data, the net positions should be calculated and reported as asset
position minus liability position,

— accounting identities of the data: the complete validation rules which were distributed and which are available on

request must be implemented by the national central banks before the data are transmitted to the ECB.

ANNEX V

MONITORING OF STATISTICAL COMPILATION METHODS

The European Central Bank (ECB) will monitor the compilation methods used for the reporting on the balance of
payments and international investment position statistics, as well as the concepts and definitions applied on a regular
basis by the Member States participating in the euro area. The monitoring will be carried out in connection with updating
and maintaining of the document entitled ‘European Union balance of payments/international
investment position
statistical methods’ (BOP book), and by the six-monthly review procedure.

The BOP book contains information on the structure of balance of payments statistical and international investment
position data for all Member States. There are detailed descriptions of data compilation methods and of the concepts and
definitions applied, as well as information on departures from the agreed definitions for the balance of payments and
international

investment position statistics in the Member States.

The BOP book will be updated on annual basis in close cooperation with the Member States.

The six-monthly review forms part of the process of updating the BOP book. The six-monthly review procedure is based
on reports to be endorsed by the Governing Council of the ECB covering the statistical treatment of the investment
income account and the financial account in the balance of payments and international investment position statistics and
forms a basis of the ECB to assess the quality of the data provided to the ECB for the balance of payments statistics.