30/11/2012
BIS, ECB and IMF publish statistics on equities
The Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have jointly published the third and final portion of the Handbook on Securities Statistics, which treats questions concerning equities and their ownership. The objective of the Handbook is to allow national and international organisations to produce statistics concerning securities which are pertinent, coherent, and compatible from one country to another, so that they can be used to formulate monetary policy and analyse financial stability.This is the first publication of its type dealing exclusively with the conceptual framework used to develop and present statistics about securities. It responds directly to one of the recommendations approved by the finance ministers and governors of the central banks of the G20, on the need to fill gaps identified in data, and to improve data collection.The seventh recommendation of the report, entitled The Financial Crisis and Information gaps, by the secretary of the Financial Stability Board and IMF services, called on central banks and, where applicable, statistical institutes, particularly in G20 economies, to participate in the collection of data concerning securities by the BIS, and to contribute to further development of the Handbook.
