| The Data: Coverage, Periodicity, and Timeliness |
| Coverage characteristics | 5.1.1 Statistical presentation Data are compiled and disseminated by the European Central Bank (ECB).
The balance of payments statistics for the euro area are based on the collection of data from reporting agents, as organised by the national authorities, within a deadline of delivering the data for
(i) monthly: within thirty working days of the end of the reference period,
(ii) quarterly: within three months of the end of the quarter to which the date relate.
Data are disclosed in the table annexed to the ECB's monthly statistical press release in billions of euro for the following components: current account items (goods, services, income and current transfers), capital account, financial account items (direct investment, portfolio investment, other investment and reserve assets). |
| Periodicity | 4.1.1 Periodicity Monthly and quarterly. |
| Timeliness | 4.1.2 Timeliness The monthly data are published within eight weeks after the end of the reference month, quarterly data after fourteen weeks. |
| Access by the Public |
Advance dissemination of
release calendar | 5.1.3 Advance release calendar A release schedule is published on the ECB's website on (http://www.ecb.europa.eu/events/calendar/statscal/html/index.en.html). Next to this the statistical press releases on the euro area balance of payments are also shown on the ECB’s web site (http://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/stats/bop/html/index.en.html) and the data are part of the euro area statistics section (chapter 7) of the Monthly Bulletin (see http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/mb/html/index.en.html). |
Simultaneous release to all
interested parties | 5.1.4 Simultaneous release Data are released simultaneously to all interested parties by issuing an ECB press release posted on the European Central Bank's website under item statistical press releases (http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/mb/html/index.en.html).
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| Integrity |
Dissemination of terms and
conditions under which
official statistics are
produced, including those
relating to the confidentiality
of individually identifiable
information | 0.1.1 Responsibility for collecting, processing, and disseminating statistics European Central Bank The collection of statistical information for the fulfillment of the tasks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is based on Article 5 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and the European Central Bank (the Statute) and carried out under Council Regulation (EC) No. 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (Official Journal of the European Union L 318 p.8.).
Balance of payments The requirements to euro area member countries are laid down in the Guideline on the "Statistical reporting requirements of the ECB in the field of balance of payments, international reserves template and international investment position" of July 16, 2004 (ECB/2004/15, OJ L 354, 30.11.2004, p. 34) and the amending ECB Guideline of May 31, 2007 (ECB/2007/3, OJ L 159, 20.6.2007, p. 48) and in accordance with Article 30 of the Statute of the ESCB.
The data for the balance of payments statistics of the Euro area are disseminated free of charge by the ECB as a service to the public. 0.1.3 Confidentiality of individual reporters' data European Central Bank The confidentiality regime of statistical information for the fulfillment of the tasks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is protected by Article 8 of the Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank.1.2.1 Disclosure of terms and conditions for statistical collection, processing, and dissemination European Central Bank The Protocol on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the ECB can be found on the ECB's website under the item "legal framework" (http://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/legal/pdf/en_protocol_18.pdf). For a complete overview of all legal documents in all European Union languages: (http://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/legal/html/index.en.html).
The regulations have been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 in L318 dated 27.11.1998, ECB/2001/13 in L333 dated 17.12.2001, ECB/2002/4 in L151/11 dated 9.12.2002, ECB/2002/8 in L330 dated 6.12.2002, ECB/2003/10 in L250 dated 2.10.2003.
The legal texts can also be obtained by contacting the Office for Official Publications of the European Union, L-2985 Luxembourg (info@opoce.cec.be). The Official Journal is published in the 11 official languages of the EU. |
Identification of internal
government access to data
before release | 1.2.2 Internal governmental access to statistics prior to release European Central Bank No officials outside the ECB/Eurosystem have access to the data before the release. |
Identification of ministerial
commentary on the occasion of
statistical releases | 1.2.3 Attribution of statistical products European Central Bank There is no ministerial commentary on the occasion of statistical data release. |
Provision of information
about revision and advance
notice of major changes in
methodology | 4.3.1 Revision schedule The balance of payments (b.o.p.) data are revised according to the following scheme:
- monthly b.o.p. data are revised with the publication of
- (i) the following month,
- (ii) the corresponding quarterly b.o.p.,
- (iii) the corresponding revised quarterly data,
- (iv) the international investment position (i.i.p.) data for the corresponding year and
- (v) the revised i.i.p. data for the corresponding year;
- quarterly data are revised with the publication of
- (i) the following quarter,
- (ii) the i.i.p. data for the corresponding year (usually carried out in October/November of each year) and
- (iii) all revisions of i.i.p. data for the corresponding year (usually carried out in October/November of each year);
- annual b.o.p/i.i.p. data are subject to revision for at least the following two years and published in April and November of the following year.
In addition, exceptional revisions may take place owing to changes in methodology or in the institutional setting of the reporting economy, i.e. when new countries join the euro area. 1.2.4 Advance notice of major changes in methodology, source data, and statistical techniques. Changes in the methodology are announced in the ECB Monthly Bulletin when they are introduced. |
| Quality |
Dissemination of
documentation on methodology
and sources used in preparing
statistics | 5.2.1 Dissemination of documentation on concepts, scope, classifications, basis of recording, data sources, and statistical techniques
The euro area b.o.p. is compiled from the data provided by the Member States of the euro area. The ECB published in May 2007 and update of a reference work containing information on the content and structure of the b.o.p. and related external statistics the "European Union Balance of Payments/International Investment Position Statistical Methods (May 2007)".
The quarterly euro area b.o.p. adheres, as far as possible, to the standards set out in the fifth edition of the IMF's "Balance of Payments Manual", which is consistent with the System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA 93) and with the European System of Accounts 1995 (ESA 95).
The requirements are set out in the Guideline on the "Statistical reporting requirements of the ECB in the field of balance of payments, international reserves template and international investment position" (ECB/2004/15)" of July 16, 2004 and the amending ECB Guideline of May 31, 2007 (ECB/2007/3) and in accordance with Article 30 of the Statute of the ESCB.
Other publications and documents on which the euro area b.o.p. statistics are based:
The methodological note on Chapter 7 of the ECB Monthly Bulletin (prior to January 2004 please refer to Chapter 8 of the Monthly Bulletin) is regularly updated. This note can be found on the ECB's website (http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/external/balance/html/index.en.html).
The Annual quality report on the euro area balance of payments and international investment position statistics , showing quantitative indicators as well as a more qualitative assessment, is also available on the ECB web site (March 31, 2008).
These publications are available free of charge from:
European Central Bank
Press & Information Division
Postfach 16 03 19
D-60066 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
(See also summary methodology)
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Dissemination of component
detail, reconciliations with
related data, and statistical
frameworks that support
statistical cross-checks
and provide assurance of
reasonableness | 4.2.1 Internal consistency The ECB Monthly Bulletin provides detailed data on the euro area balance of payments. The following data are available:
7. External transactions and positions:
- Table 7.1: Summary balance of payments (monthly);
- Table 7.2.1: Current and capital accounts: Summary current and capital accounts (monthly);
- Table 7.2.2: Current and capital accounts: Income account (quarterly);
- Table 7.2.3: Current and capital accounts: Geographical breakdown (cumulated quarterly);
- Table 7.3.1: Financial account: Summary financial account (transaction: monthly, outstanding amounts: quarterly);
- Table 7.3.2: Financial account: Direct investment (transactions: monthly, outstanding amounts: quarterly);
- Table 7.3.3: Financial account: Portfolio investment assets (transactions: monthly, outstanding amounts: quarterly);
- Table 7.3.4: Financial account: Portfolio investment liabilities (transactions: monthly, outstanding amounts: quarterly);
- Table 7.3.5: Financial account: Other investment assets (transactions: monthly, outstanding amounts: quarterly);.
- Table 7.3.6: Financial account: Other investment liabilities (transactions: monthly, outstanding amounts: quarterly);
- Table 7.3.7: Financial account: Reserve assets (transactions: quarterly, outstanding amounts: monthly);
- Table 7.3.8: Financial account: Geographical breakdown (outstanding amounts: annual, cumulated transaction: quarterly);
- Table 7.4: Monetary presentation of the balance of payments (monthly).
4.2.2 Temporal consistency
- Data before 1999: The b.o.p. data for the euro area prior to 1999, as published by the ECB, are also largely based on extra-euro area transactions. The data are expressed in ECU.
- As reserve asset flows before the formation of the euro area at the end of 1998 are aggregates of national data, they may also contain assets against other residents of the euro area which should, by definition, be excluded from reserve assets and recorded under the other items of the financial account. Consequently, the pre-1999 data for portfolio investment and financial derivatives may miss the transactions related to these intra-euro assets.
- Data on other investment prior to 1999 are partly estimated by b.o.p. compilers since some Member States did not receive information on the geographical breakdown from their respondents.
In addition, all 1997 data are not fully comparable with later observations owing to differences in the methodology applied for the geographical allocation and in the coverage of the reporting population.
- Since August 2003, the ECB publishes a split between “loans” and “currency and deposits” for the assets of euro area non-MFIs (see Monthly Bulletin Table 7.3.5). This instrument split is based on the sector of the non-resident counterpart, i.e. assets vis-à-vis non-resident banks are classified as deposits, whereas assets vis-à-vis other non-resident sectors are classified as loans. The new series comprise data from January 2004 onwards.
- While the Monthly Bulletin only contains data referring to the latest country composition of the euro area, data on the changing composition can be downloaded from the ECB website through the Statistical Data Warehouse (SDW).
- Since June 2003, the ECB has published a monetary presentation of the b.o.p. (initially on a quarterly basis and, since June 2004, on a monthly basis).This presentation distinguishes between those changes in the euro area resident MFIs’ external assets and liabilities3 that reflect the foreign transactions of the non-MFI sector and those changes that relate to the activities of the MFI sector. Transactions in the net external assets of the (balance sheet of the) MFI sector can be presented as the mirror image of the transactions of non-MFIs with non-euro area residents (shown in the balance of payments). This statement enables to conduct a deeper analysis of monetary developments, as changes in broad money (the M3 aggregate) can be presented as the arithmetic result of changes in its counterparts, namely (i) credit to euro area residents, (ii) net external assets of euro area MFIs, (iii) long-term financial liabilities and (iv) other counterparts.
- Estimated quarterly balance of payments current account data for the euro area since 1980 are made available on the ECB website. Methodological information concerning the estimation can be found here.
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Footnotes
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Dissemination
