1 Financial market crisis and the relevance of European Statistics – the ECB perspective Caroline Willeke, Violetta Damia European Conference on Quality in Official Statistics Helsinki, 4-6 May 2010

2 Contents  General quality issues  Definitions  The governance structure of European statistics provided by the ESCB  The merits and costs procedure  Financial crisis  Identification of user needs  Relevant statistical initiatives  Conclusions and way forward

3 Quality issues Good statistics monetary policyother tasks Good statistics to support the conduct of monetary policy and other tasks of the European system of central banks (ESCB) DG-S’ mission statement ECB Statistics Quality Framework (SQF) fit for purpose how well statistical processes and output fulfil key stakeholders’ expectations ‘…Applied to statistics, a general benchmark of quality is whether they are fit for purpose. By using such a benchmark, quality is interpreted in a broad sense as encompassing all aspects of how well statistical processes and output fulfil key stakeholders’ expectations. while: 1)meeting users’ needs, 2)respecting confidentiality, 3)addressing the concerns regarding the reporting burden, and 4)promoting the skills and ethical standards of statisticians.

4 Quality issues (2) Governance issues Article 5 of the Statute of the ESCB and of the ECB For new requirements: (1) fine-tuning measures, (2) “short-term approaches”, and/or (3) the establishment of new or substantially enhanced statistics with a significant impact on respondents. Relevance ‘ECB statistics shall meet stated or implied user needs. These needs may alter over time as a result of changes in the economic environment ‘ main users’ regular consultation current statistics usage monitoring adequate balance between real-world phenomena, economic theory, measurability and cost-effectiveness user satisfaction monitoring

5 Quality issues (3) Merits and costs Overall:  judgemental element  judgemental element from both users and producers’ sides, but … establish prioritiesfacilitates more disciplined discussions  helps to establish priorities and facilitates more disciplined discussions with users and respondents fact- fact- finding findingexercise costs costs assessment assessment merits merits assessment assessment balancing balancingmerits vs. costs step a step b step c step e step f/g initialassessment

6 Financial crisis – user needs Financial markets, instruments and intermediaries Monetary and Financial Institutions statistics Balance sheet and interest rate statistics Securitisation Consolidated Banking Data Integrated financial and non-financial quarterly economic accounts of the euro area Enhancement of the timeliness and frequency Micro data Centralised Securities Database (CSDB) - securities holdings Credit registers - ABS “look-through” Large Financial Institutions (LFIs) Non-financial sectors (non-financial corporations & households) SMEs SMEs: bi-annual survey across the euro area Households : Households : household finance and consumption survey (HFCS) Global initiatives and the ECB involvement Working Group on Credit Risk Transfer (BIS and the ECB) Group of Twenty (G-20) - global measurement of financial risks “Handbook on Securities Statistics” (BIS, the ECB, and the IMF) Inter-agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics

7 Conclusions Circumstances may change quickly  sudden reprioritisation of user needs  ECB tools to meet user needs  sound governance structure  regular contacts between statisticians and various user areas, as well as contacts with market participants ECB initiatives  already existing vs. need to react swiftly  close cooperation and joint initiatives with other Supranational/International Organisation

8 Conclusions (2) View for the future  increase further the flexibility (also of stat. processes),  increase use of micro data bases,  progress further towards the standardisation of reference data,  preparation of experimental statistics based on already available data,  use of ad hoc surveys for one-off or temporary demands  close and smooth cooperation between regional and international statistical compilers  sharing of data wherever possible

9 THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION!