aggregate time series. an improved understanding of ( risks to ) financial stability and of the transmission of monetary policy is a clear benefit that the use of micro data brings to central banks. this enables central banks to better perform their core tasks – maintaining price stability and contributing to financial stability. in this sense, micro data benefit both, society as a whole as well as financial institutions that operate in a more stable environment. an additional advantage of an increased use of micro data is that these data can be used for multiple purposes. traditional statistics tend to serve specific purposes, such as the construction of aggregate indicators for statistics on the financial account. if new analytical questions arise, these ( aggregate ) data often do not fit the purpose. analysis then has to rely on information which is not really targeted, or additional surveys have to be conducted. in addition to being costly, these surveys often have the disadvantage that they do not allow developments to be tracked over time and that they survey only a sample of firms or banks and are thus not very representative. using micro data that have already been collected, it is comparatively simple to respond to a new request by carrying out an appropriate aggregation of the data. looking ahead, the microdata approach to compiling statistics may even replace the traditional one, leading to cost - savings on the side of the reporting agents. in the traditional system, data has to be aggregated and reported separately for each dataset. the cost of aggregation is borne by the reporting agent. according to the microdata approach, reporting agents have to send their data only once. everything else is done by the central bank. hence, the costs of aggregation are passed on to the central bank. that is a considerable advantage for the industry, but is that everything? is it not the case that the industry not only benefits from cost savings but can also make direct use of the micro data? can statistics be jointly compiled by the industry and the central bank on a voluntary basis in order to increase benefits and reduce costs? this is not a purely hypothetical question. the bundesbank ’ s corporate financial statement statistics, which contains data on german non - financial corporations, are based on several sources, a key one being a data pool with financial statements provided on a voluntary basis by credit institutions and financial service providers. the individual institutions cannot access the micro data of the other parties. however, they receive a very wide range of statistics on key ratios, broken down by sector and size category, which they can use as part of

commitments are : ( 1 ) the plan of action of the g - 7 finance ministers and central bank governors of 10 october, ( 2 ) the ecofin council conclusions of 7 october and ( 3 ) the declaration on a concerted european action plan of the euro area countries on 12 october. these documents list common principles in key areas ( ensuring appropriate liquidity, facilitating the funding of banks through various means, providing additional capital resources to financial institutions, recapitalisation of distressed banks, ensuring appropriate implementation of accounting rules, and enhancing cooperation among european countries ), while leaving national governments free to design the operational aspects of such interventions according to the specific characteristics of their domestic financial industries. in particular, these public commitments establish some core principles on how to address liquidity, funding and solvency problems that should contribute to define a common and more effective approach to overcoming the present turmoil. this common approach has started materialising through the announcements by various euro area governments of co - ordinated action plans that comply with the general principles agreed in euro area and international fora. the importance of cooperation mechanisms and information sharing was also underlined by the european council on 15 and 16 october with the creation of a “ financial stability cell ” aiming to improve crisis management in the eu and the decision to establish regular meetings of national regulators. the importance of broad international cooperation to address the challenges faced by the world economy has been renovated in the statement released after the g - 20 summit on financial markets and the world economy of 16 november. the statement indicates principles for the reform of the international financial systems and the improvement of the global financial architecture as well as policy responses to the global slowdown in economic activity. strengthening market transparency, improving disclosure and accountability are indicated among the core principles for reform of financial markets, with the statement also including a specific action plan listing both immediate and medium - term actions in these areas. in general, the principles for reform indicated by the g - 20 are in many respects consistent with those previously stated in the public commitments of other international fora. nevertheless, as has been stressed by commentators, their restatement by the g - 20, a group of countries including both the major developed economies and the largest emerging economies, is a confirmation of both the global nature of the financial crisis and the equally global determination to overcome it. indeed, all of the public commitments so far together with the plans already adopted by many countries clearly show the strong determination of the international community to preserve the stability of our financial and