these markets : but there is no corresponding data matrix at the global level. it will be important that the emir dataset can be linked to other datasets to understand the total balance sheet exposures. the adoption of common identifiers, such as the legal entity identifier ( lei ), across the various granular data initiatives is critical to facilitate these linkages. another challenge posed by globalisation is the dual roles played by multinational firms in production and in the international financial system. 1 it is increasingly difficult to interpret national economic and financial accounts, given the mis - match between the global - level integrated 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches activities of international firms and the residency - based concepts that underpin national accounting. in particular, the scale of cross - border intra - firm transactions is a severe challenge in working out the implications of observed balance of payments flows. the wide spread use of special purpose entities in the financial transactions of multinational firms further adds to the difficulty in accurately capturing the underlying trends. at european and global levels, developing a shared understanding among statisticians of the international activities of multinational firms is a high priority due to the threat to the relevance of statistics. the statistical system will also need to become more agile, as the activities of multinational firms evolve at a rapid pace and the underlying rules and manuals can take several years to catch up. so, from a financial stability perspective, in identifying next steps for escb statistics, an important priority is to continue the painstaking work to develop sufficient momentum and trust across jurisdictions to enable more data sharing at a global level across these various dimensions. let me turn to the data requirements for effective macroprudential policymaking. in particular, let me focus on borrower - based measures such as loan - to - value ( ltv ) or debt - to - income ( dti ) ceilings that can help improve the stability of mortgage markets. since risks are concentrated in the higher - risk tail of the distribution of mortgage loans, it is very helpful to have granular, loan - byloan data in calibrating borrower - based measures. in particular, a full risk assessment requires a capacity to match loan data with borrower characteristics such as income level, employment status, household composition, non - mortgage debts and other financial assets and liabilities. in relation to gaining an overview of the aggregate debts of a household, it is important to highlight the value of a comprehensive consumer credit register. since loan balances and

##minence of the risks whether at the systemic or individual bank level and acted only timidly and ineffectually to restrain the lending boom. rather than see the banks limp on, crippled by non - performing loans that would both inhibit their ability to retain depositor funding and discourage any new lending, the government already stepped in at the beginning of 2009 to begin the portfolio restructuring of the system. the approach being adopted is comprehensive and transparent. it is designed to remove the overhang of large hard - to - recover property loans from the books of the banks, freeing their management to concentrate on providing the credit and other services needed for the economic recovery. the banks are being recapitalized – by parents in the case of the foreign - owned banks, through market - sources, backed - up by injections of capital by government where necessary for the rest. the asset management agency nama has been established to purchase the largest property related loans from the banks on an ambitious scale – indeed, relative to the economy nama will be among the largest agencies of its type – china providing possibly the closest parallel. the nama approach is to buy the loans at market - related prices, with a view to nama breaking even or better over time as it recovers on the loans. despite the haircuts that this inevitably entails, all five of the main locally - controlled banks have agreed to participate in nama. the process of valuing and transferring the loans is a painstaking one which is taking longer than everyone hoped, but it is well under way, and the discounts on the initial tranches have been large – over 50 per cent in the first two tranches on average. of course this crystallization of losses erodes the capital of the banks, and has given rise to a very visible and transparent recapitalization need which has been addressed very energetically by the central bank. ( i have heard some suggestion that such up - front transparency could have been avoided by brushing the problem under the carpet in any of a variety of ways. bank resolution history does not provide much support for such a suggestion. denial and obfuscation would, i believe, not have been credible anyway, and would have prolonged the crisis and increased its ultimate cost. ) it has been clear to the authorities that the banks would need to be recapitalized to a comfortable and credible level if they were to recover their financial independence and operate without placing additional burdens on the budget. well ahead