External Debt Statistics. Guide for Compilers and Users
By: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and International Monetary Fund
Contributors: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Washington DC
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] /
Number of pages: 309
ISBN-13: 9789264065161
Subjects: Development
Description: International financial crises in the late 1990s underscored the importance of reliable and timely statistics on external debt as a critical element for the early detection of countries’ external vulnerability. Against this background, improving the quality of key external debt data and promoting convergence of recording practices became of vital importance. External Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users (the Guide) provides clear guidance on the concepts, definitions, and classifications of gross external debt of the public and private sectors; the sources and techniques for compiling these data, analytical use of these data and the work of international agencies in this field.  The Guide was prepared by an Inter-Agency Task Force on Finance Statistics, chaired by the IMF, and involving representatives from the BIS, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the European Central Bank, Eurostat, the IMF, the OECD, the Paris Club Secretariat, UNCTAD, and the World Bank.

The preparation of the Guide was based on the broad range of experience of these organizations, in close consultation with national compilers of external debt, balance of payments, and international investment position statistics. The Guide updates the previous international guidance on external debt statistics, External Debt: Definition, Statistical Coverage and Methodology, which was published in 1988, to take account of developments in the 1990s which included new international statistical guidance for national accounts and balance of payments statistics; a substantial growth in private sector financial flows, especially to private sector debtors; and, associated with these, an increased use of instruments such as debt securities and financial derivatives to manage and redistribute risks. The Guide is intended to be a useful source of reference to both compilers and users of external debt data.

The core of the Guide’s conceptual framework is the definition of gross external debt (and related terms) and an explanation of the accounting principles required for its measurement.  The framework also provides a number of tables for the presentation of the external debt position.  The key summary table gives a breakdown of institutional sector of the debtor, maturity and instrument, consistent with national accounts and balance of payments presentations.  In addition, several other tables are provided to show important items which facilitate the analysis of the implications of the external debt position, for example, with regard to external vulnerability. These include public and publicly guaranteed external debt, external debt on remaining maturity and ultimate risk bases and foreign currency debt. OECD has a long record of experience in the field of external debt, and its annual publication External Debt Statistics has appeared since the early 1980s.

The work has involved close collaboration with its partners, the BIS, IMF and World Bank, in the areas of data exchange and development of methodology and guidelines.  OECD has co-authored with these same partners External Debt: Definition, Statistical Coverage and Methodology, 1988, Debt Stocks, Debt Flows and the Balance of Payments, 1994 and the quarterly internet publication, the Joint BIS-IMF-OECD-World Bank statistics on external debt. Sales information, and a pdf version of the Guide may be found at http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/eds/Eng/Guide/index.htm. For further information please contact Deborah Guz, Head of the external debt unit, National Accounts and Economic Statistics of the Division, Statistics Directorate e-mail: deborah.guz@oecd.org
Table of contents: title: Foreword; title: Preface; title: Abbreviations and Acronyms; title: 1 Overview; title: PART I: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK; title: 2 The Measurement of External Debt: Definition and Core Accounting Principles; title: 3 Identification of Institutional Sectors and Financial Instruments; title: 4 Presentation of the Gross External Debt Position; title: 5 Public and Publicly Guaranteed External Debt; title: 6 Further External Debt Accounting Principles; title: 7 Further Presentation Tables of External Debt; title: Introduction; title: External Debt by Short-Term Remaining Maturity; title: Debt-Service Payment Schedule; title: Foreign Currency and Domestic Currency External Debt; title: Interest Rates and External Debt; title: External Debt by Creditor Sector; title: Net External Debt Position; title: Reconciliation of External Debt Positions and Flows; title: Traded Debt Instruments; title: Cross-Border Trade-Related Credit; title: 8 Debt Reorganization; title: 9 Contingent Liabilities; title: PART II: COMPILATION—PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE; title: 10 Overview of Data Compilation; title: -Introduction; title: Coordination Among Official Agencies; title: Resources; title: Legal Backing for Data Collection; title: Collection Techniques at Different Stages of Liberalization; title: Dissemination of External Debt Statistics; title: 11 Government and Public Sector Debt Statistics; title: Introduction; title: How Should Data Be Collected and Compiled by the Debt Office?; title: Basic Details and Terms of the Borrowing; title: How Should Information Be Stored?; title: How Can the Debt Office Validate Data?; title: Appendix: Functions of the Government Debt Office; title: 12 Banks and Other Sectors’ External Debt Statistics; title: 13 Traded Securities; title: Introduction; title: General Observations; title: Key Considerations; title: Nonresident Investment in Domestically Issued Securities: Potential Respondents; title: Issues of Securities by Residents in Foreign Markets; title: Information on Securities Involved in Reverse Security Transactions; title: Possible Mismeasurement; title: Periodic Position Surveys; title: Counterpart Information; title: 14 Country Experience; title: Introduction; title: Australia; title: Austria; title: Canada; title: Chile; title: India; title: Israel; title: Mexico; title: New Zealand; title: Philippines; title: Turkey; title: Uganda; title: PART III: USE OF EXTERNAL DEBT STATISTICS; title: 15 Debt Sustainability: Medium-Term Scenarios and Debt Ratios; title: 16 External Debt Analysis: Further Considerations; title: -Introduction; title: Composition of External Debt; title: The Role of Income; title: The Role of Assets; title: Relevance of Financial Derivatives and Repurchase Agreements (Repos); title: Information on the Creditor; title: PART IV: WORK OF INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES; title: 17 External Debt Statistics from International Agencies; title: Introduction; title: Bank for International Settlements-International Monetary Fund; title: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; title: World Bank; title: Joint BIS-IMF-OECD-World Bank Statistics on External Debt; title: 18 External Debt Monitoring Systems; title: Introduction; title: Commonwealth Secretariat’s Debt Recording and Management System (CS-DRMS); title: UNCTAD’s Debt Management and Financial Analysis System (DMFAS); title: 19 Provision of Technical Assistance in External Debt Statistics; title: -Introduction; title: Commonwealth Secretariat; title: European Central Bank; title: International Monetary Fund; title: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; title: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; title: World Bank; title: Appendices; title: -I. Specific Financial Instruments and Transactions: Classifications; title: Part 1. Financial Instruments: Description and Classificationin the Gross External Debt Position; title: Part 2. Classification of Specific Transactions; title: II. Reverse Security Transactions; title: III. Glossary of External Debt Terms; title: IV. Relationship Between the National Accounts and the International Investment Position (IIP); title: V. Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and DebtSustainability Analysis