1. Skopje Seminar 2-5 October 2013
Euro Area Statistics
Jean-Marc Israël
Head of Division,
Monetary and Financial Statistics
ECB
Skopje Seminar
2-5 October 2013

2. ECB / Eurosystem / ESCB functions
Define and implement monetary policy
Conduct foreign exchange operations/hold and manage official foreign reserves
Promote smooth operation of payment systems
Contribute to smooth conduct of policies relating to banking supervision and stability of the financial system
[Eurosystem: ECB and national central banks of 17 (18 from ) countries in the euro area]
[European System of Central Banks (ESCB): ECB and national central banks of 28 EU Member States]

3. Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
EU Member States
which have adopted the euro FI SE EE LV
EU Member States
with a special status LT DK IE UK NL PL DE BE
EU Member States
with a derogation LU CZ SK FR AT HU RO SI HR IT BG PT ES GR CY MT

4. Key characteristics of the euro area
€ -17
EU -27*
Population (millions)
333
504
314
128
GDP (PPP, € trillions)
9.5
13.4
12.3
3.5
GDP per capita (PPP, € thousands)
28.5
26.6
39.3
27.6
Share of world GDP (PPP, %)
13.7
19.4
18.9
5.6
Exports (goods and services, % of GDP)
26.8
18.3
14.1
15.4
Gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP)
18.4
17.9
15.8
21.2
Gross saving (% of GDP)
20.2
18.9
12.9
24.5 **
* The figures for Croatia are not yet available.
** refers to 2011
Sources: for euro area and EU: ECB, Eurostat, national data, IMF and ECB calculations; for the United States and Japan: national sources, IMF.

5. Governance of European statistics (I)
The ESCB
European System of Central Banks
European Statistical System
ECB
Eurostat + +
National Central Banks
National Statistical Institutes
Prime responsibility
Prime responsibility
Monetary and financial statistics
International reserves
Effective exchange rates
Quarterly financial accounts
General economic statistics (e.g. GDP, HICP, other price statistics, labour market, other short-term statistics, foreign trade)
Other statistics (e.g. agriculture)
Balance of payments
International investment position
Non-financial sector accounts
Shared responsibility

6. Governance of European statistics (2)
The ESCB and the European Statistical System (Eurostat and National Statistical Institutes) develop, produce and disseminate European statistics
under separate legal frameworks, reflecting their respective governance structures
Memorandum of Understanding between ESS and the ESCB (updated, April 2013) enhanced cooperation:
European Statistical Forum – strategic cooperation
work jointly in Committee for Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments statistics (CMFB) - operational cooperation

7. Financial Vehicle Corporations
Article 338 of TFEU
Legal infrastructure
Legal framework for European statistics (1/2)
Legal framework for European statistics (1/2)
2533/98)
Financial Vehicle Corporations 10 10

8. ECB legal instruments concerning statistics
ECB-UNRESTRICTED
Regulation – directly imposes obligations on reporting agents in euro area
Guideline – imposes obligations on Eurosystem (including ECB)
Recommendation – informs statistical authorities other than central banks in euro area of ECB requirements; not legally binding
Decision – imposes obligations on addressees; can also be without addressees
Notice – to inform/explain
Opinion – expression of ECB view, usually in response to a consultation under Treaty/Statute
Also Memorandum of Understanding – its nature and status

9. Brief overview of ECB statistics
MFI (banking) balance sheets; monetary aggregates and counterparts
MFI interest rates
Securities issues
Other (non-monetary) financial intermediaries
Financial markets
Payment systems
Balance of payments
International investment position
Other external statistics
Government finance
Euro area integrated institutional sector accounts
NB: ECB uses also many statistics from sources outside ESCB/Eurosystem (prices/costs, national accounts, labour market statistics, etc.), and that responsibility for some of the above is shared with Eurostat
[MFI = monetary financial institution]

10. Who does what in ESCB/Eurosystem
Article 5 ( Statute): “… the ECB, assisted by the national central banks, shall collect the necessary statistical information […] The national central banks shall carry out, to the extent possible, the task[s]…”
NCBs: Collection of data from reporting agents, other national statistical authorities, other national sources
All contact with reporting agents/representative bodies
Compilation and publication of national aggregates/contributions to euro area aggregates
ECB: Collection of data from other Community/international sources (e.g. Eurostat, BIS)
Compilation and publication of euro area aggregates
Shared: Conceptual/development work, development of legal/technical infrastructure
(ECB in lead)
Participation in Community/international statistical committees
NCBs perform many of their tasks in accordance with ECB Guidelines.
NCBs have responsibility for meeting the ECB’s requirements.
Though there are instances of specialisation, all Eurosystem NCBs contribute to statistical work in broadly the same way.
[BIS = Bank for International Settlements ( Basel)]

11. Complying with international statistical standards
System of National Accounts (1993) and other Manuals
IMF Balance of Payments Manual, 5th edition (1993)
IMF Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual (MFSM 2000)
IMF Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM 2001)
European System of Accounts (1995)
… complemented by legal definitions, compilation guides and manuals, at international and European level
ECB Statistics is currently implementing the new standards SNA 2008; ESA 2010; BPM 6

12. Compiling euro area aggregates
Usual approach – build from national contributions.
Importance of harmonisation of the national contributions.
Some euro area aggregates are a simple sum of (harmonised) national data, but some not.
National money stock commonly includes deposits held by residents with banks located in the country concerned. Euro area money stock includes deposits held by residents of all euro area countries with banks (MFIs) located anywhere in the euro area
it exceeds the sum of national money stocks by the amount of cross-border depositing within the euro area.
National balance of payments statistics measure all cross-border transactions of residents of the country concerned
the b.o.p. of the euro area excludes cross-border transactions within the euro area
gross flows in the euro area b.o.p. fall short of the sum of national b.o.p. flows by the amount of these cross-border flows within the area

13. National and euro area monetary aggregates
In German M In neither German nor Austrian M In Austrian M3
Deposits held by Deposits held by Deposits held by Deposits held by
Germans with MFIs Germans with MFIs Austrians with MFIs Austrians with MFIs
in Germany in Austria in Germany in Austria
All the above are components of euro area monetary aggregates
I I

14. Reference reporting population for ECB statistics
Central banks, other MFIs
Other (non-monetary) financial intermediaries
Post office giro institutions
Entities holding cross-border positions or carrying out cross-border transactions
Issuers of securities or e-money
The reference reporting population is confined to entities resident in the euro area (but the ECB may collect from them consolidated data which includes information relating to their branches outside the euro area).
This is all set out in Community legislation Regulation No 2533/98 - notable amendment here in No 951/2009 is extension of reference reporting population to include insurance corporations and pension funds.

15. Monetary and financial statistics
Monetary aggregates and counterparts, minimum reserves
Interest rates, securities issues
Investment funds
Financial Vehicle corporations
Insurance corporations and pension funds
Financial soundness indicators, financial integration indicators
Financial stability statistics, of which Consolidated Banking Data
Financial market statistics - yield curve, PDFs -

16. ECB statistical support for the ESRB
Council Regulation 1096/2010: The ECB has to provide statistical support to the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB)
Main sources of data for the ESRB are:
Data exchange with the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, ESMA, EIOPA)
Statistical support from the ECB/ESCB
Commercial data providers and other datasets
Ad-hoc surveys
ECB, STC and its working groups involved actively in several workstreams
Examples: identify main datasets for the ESRB;
setting up the White Book, Risk Dashboard, Analysis of National Banking Systems;
help shaping the data flows between the ESCB and the European System of Financial Supervisors

17. Financial stability: ESRB Risk Dashboard
Composite indicator of systemic stress (CISS)
Bank liabilities structure (annual growth rates for EA)
Average systemic risk contribution of individual institution to overall risk using CoVar (EU banking syst.)
Domestic credit-to-GDP ratio
Actual and forecasted GDP growth
Households debt to gross disposable income
Real estate comm. property, market size over GDP
Global risk aversion indicator
Price/earning ratio
EU large banks: Leverage ratios 17

18. External statistics
Euro area balance of payments and international investment position - including international reserves
Monthly balance of payments
Quarterly breakdown by main partners
International investment position (balance sheet) and link to balance of payments
Nominal and real effective exchange rates of the euro
The geographic breakdown of the euro area current and capital account, international investment position and trade in goods is published in the ECB Monthly Bulletin

19. Government Finance statistics
Protocol on the EDP: 3% and 60% of GDP as reference values for government deficit and debt reserves
Complete set of government accounts (revenue, expenditure, debt and deficit-debt adjustment) providing an integrated overview of the government balance and debt in annual frequency
Fiscal discipline is essential for the stability of the euro
keeping price stability: direct (e.g. VAT) and indirect effects (wages)
containing inflation expectations: rising government debt may lead to pressure on the ECB to tolerate higher inflation to erode the real value of debt
keeping financial markets stable: interest rate on government debt in one country is affected by the evolution of other countries deficits and debts quarterly breakdown by main partners

20. Euro area accounts
Complete description of euro area economic and financial developments: whole economy and by institutional sector (financial and non-financial corporations, households and government, rest of the world)
Integrates monetary, financial and economic statistics
Consistent statistical basis for quarterly economic analysis, with integrated non-financial accounts and financial accounts
Enables analysis of interrelations between key macro-economic policy indicators (e.g. household saving rate, indebtedness and changes in wealth; entrepreneurial income of non-financial corporations; government debt)

21. EAA by Institutional sectors

22. For whom to whom: long term loans

23. General economic statistics
Other European statistics used by the ECB (Eurostat primary responsibility):
Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)
GDP
Business indicators: industrial production, retail trade, etc.
Employment, unemployment, labour costs, etc.

24. ECB Governing and General Councils ESCB Statistics Committee (STC)
Decision-making bodies for ECB statistics
ESCB Statistics Committee (STC) and its Working Groups are at the core of the production of ECB statistics
ECB Governing and General Councils
ECB Executive Board
ESCB Statistics Committee (STC)
WG on Monetary and Financial Statistics
WG on Euro Area Accounts
WG on External Statistics
WG on General Economic Statistics
WG on Government Finance Statistics
WG on Statistical Information Management
WG on Securities Statistics