Deutsche Bundesbank

Wilhelm-Epstein-Straße 14

 60431 Frankfurt am Main

 069 9566-3512

bop-iip-data@bundesbank.de

Analysis, Dissemination and Methods of External Sector Statistics Division

Deutsche Bundesbank

Wilhelm-Epstein-Straße 14

60431 Frankfurt am Main

The different domains relevant for external sector statistics (Balance of Payments -BOP, International Investment Position - IIP, Foreign Direct Investment - FDI, and International Trade in Services - ITS) sent to Eurostat are based on the BOP Vademecum reflecting requirements laid down in the Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 on Community statistics concerning BOP, ITS, and FDI, as amended by the Commission Regulation (EU) No 555/2012 of 22 June 2012 and Regulation (EU) No 2016/1013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016.

These datasets are broadly in line with the sixth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6), the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment (BD4) and the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in services 2010 (MSITS 2010).

Monthly and quarterly BOP summarize transactions between residents and nonresidents during a specific period. BOP data consist of the goods and services account, the primary income account, the secondary income account, the capital account, and the functional categories of the financial account (direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives and employee stock options, other investment and reserve assets). Differences between the current and capital account on the one hand and the financial account on the other hand are visible under Net errors and omissions that result from imperfections in source data, inconsistent reporting by enterprises and compilation issues. 

Quarterly IIP shows for a country all financial claims on nonresidents and a country’s liabilities to nonresidents at a certain point in time. The breakdown follows the functional categories of the financial account (direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives (other than reserve assets) and employee stock options, other investment, and reserve assets). The sign of the balance shows whether the domestic economic sectors have a net creditor or net debtor position vis-à-vis other countries. The other changes in financial assets and liabilities accounts (revaluations due to exchange rate, revaluations due to other price changes and other changes in the volume) reconcile the balance of payments and IIP for a specific period, by showing changes due to economic events other than transactions between residents and nonresidents.

Annual FDI statistics (consisting of financial account transactions, current account primary income figures and IIP position data) is a category of cross-border investment associated with a resident in one economy (direct investor) having control or a significant degree of influence on the management of an enterprise that is resident in another economy (direct investment enterprise). By convention, such a lasting interest exists when a direct investor owns 10% or more of the voting power or the equivalent (for an unincorporated enterprise). Operational definitions of control and influence are explained in BPM6 § 6.12. Furthermore, the definition of direct investment is the same as in the fourth edition of the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment.

Annual ITS statistics record services transactions between residents and non-residents and cover the following categories: manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others; Maintenance and repair services, not included elsewhere; transport; travel; construction; insurance and pension services; financial services; charges for the use of intellectual property, not included elsewhere; telecommunication, computer and information services; other business services; personal, cultural and recreational services; and government goods and services, not included elsewhere. The services categories are listed in the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS 2010).

Germany

Balance of Payments (BOP)

The balance of payments statistics are a comprehensive and systematic representation of the economic transactions a national economy conducts with the rest of the world over a specific period of time. It is not therefore a balance sheet in the sense of a point-in-time statement of assets and liabilities, but rather a flow account. The balance of payments captures not only transactions associated with cross-border payments but also operations that do not lead to a direct payment, if indeed any.

The balance of payments is broken down into the following sub-accounts: 

Current account: goods, services, primary and secondary income. These sub-accounts encompass figures in original form as well as in seasonally adjusted and calendar adjusted form. Seasonal and calendar adjustment is carried out using the X-13 method in version 2.2.2 of JDemetra+. 

Capital account: non-produced non-financial assets, capital transfers.

Financial account: direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives and employee stock options, other investment, reserve assets.

Net errors and omissions for the settlement of balances: arises from transactions not or incorrectly being recorded or allocated to a period.

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/balance-of-payments/methodological-notes-794532

International Investment Position (IIP)

The international investment position is a financial statement setting out Germany’s financial assets and liabilities vis-à-vis the rest of the world. It is published as a quarterly stock statistic.

The German i.i.p. observes the concepts and methodological requirements set down in the sixth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6). For the EU Member States and euro area countries, the resulting statistical data submission requirements are laid down in a European Commission Regulation. Furthermore, a Guideline of the European Central Bank (ECB) stipulates the reporting requirements for Eurosystem national central banks. 

The assets and liabilities of German residents are broken down by function into the investment categories “Direct investment”, “Portfolio investment”, “Other investment”, “Financial derivatives and employee stock options” and “Reserve assets”. The sectoral breakdown distinguishes between five domestic economic sectors: “Monetary financial institutions (MFIs excluding the Bundesbank)”, “Financial corporations excluding MFIs”, “Non-financial corporations, households and non-profit institutions serving households”, “General government” and “Bundesbank”. All these subdivisions are shown as assets (claims on non-residents), liabilities (liabilities to non-residents) and as the resulting balance (net value). In each case, the balance shows whether the domestic economic sectors have a net creditor or net debtor position vis-à-vis other countries. The stocks recorded in the i.i.p. are each valued at market prices and exchange rates as at the end of the reporting period.

The i.i.p. is a statistical statement which refers to a point in time; it completes the period-based balance of payments statistics which record the value of all economic transactions between residents and non-residents in a given period. The integrated statement of external statistics reconciles i.i.p. and balance of payments by breaking down changes in the i.i.p. into financial account transactions and revaluation effects resulting from exchange rate or market price fluctuations and other adjustments.

The i.i.p. is one of the data categories for the external sector within the IMF’s data standard, Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus (SDDS Plus), to which Germany adheres. Metadata are available on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB). They describe the methodological, conceptual and institutional framework of the German i.i.p.

Further methodological details on the compilation of the balance of payments and international investment position for each of the EU member states can be gleaned from the “European Union Balance of Payments and International Investment Position statistical sources and methods - B.o.p. and i.i.p. book”.Weitere methodische Informationen zur Erstellung der Zahlungsbilanz und des Auslandsvermögensstatus in den Euroraum-Mitgliedsländern enthält die Veröffentlichung "European Union Balance of Payments and International Investment Position statistical sources and methods - B.o.p. and i.i.p. book".

 https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/international-investment-position-and-external-debt/methodological-notes-794946

Foreign direct investment (FDI)

Foreign direct investment is defined as cross-border investment in enterprises with the objective of establishing a lasting influence over business activities. For further details please follow the link below:

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/direct-investments/direct-investments-and-foreign-affiliates-statistics-fats--865114

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/direct-investments/methodological-notes-795220

Classification used for the BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS statistics are in broad conformity with guidelines outlined in the relevant manual (e.g., BPM6, BD4).

Nonfinancial transactions in the BOP are generally grouped according to their nature and characteristics. Produced assets are covered in the goods and services account. Primary income captures returns for the provision of labour and financial assets and for renting of natural resources. Secondary income captures further redistribution of income through current transfers, such as by governments, private households or charitable organization in cash or in kind. The capital account is split into gross acquisitions and disposals of nonproduced nonfinancial assets and other capital transfers.

Positions and flows of financial assets and liabilities are primarily grouped according to the BPM6 functional categories. Five functional categories of investment are distinguished: (a) direct investment, (b) portfolio investment, (c) financial derivatives (other than reserves) and employee stock options, (d) other investment, and (e) reserve assets. These functional categories reflect on economic motivations and patterns of behaviour. Positions, the associated income and financial account transactions, and other changes are based on three broad categories of financial assets and liabilities: (1) equity and investment fund shares, (2) debt instruments, and (3) other financial assets and liabilities.

Annual FDI flows are classified according to the directional principle, that is grouping the FDI transactions according to the status of the resident entity; 1) FDI abroad, if the resident entity is the direct investor or, in the case of transactions between fellows companies, if the “Ultimate Controlling Parent (UCP)” is also located in the compiling economy,  2) FDI in the reporting economy, if the resident entity is the direct investment enterprise or, in the case of transactions between fellows companies, if the “Ultimate Controlling Parent (UCP)” is not located in the compiling economy. In the directional presentation, reverse investment can be seen as equivalent to the withdrawal of investment. The instrument classification differentiates between equity (other than reinvestment of earnings), reinvestment of earnings and debt instruments.

Annual FDI income shows amounts payable and receivable between resident and non-resident entities in return for providing financial direct investment assets to the rest of the world, or incurring direct investment liabilities vis-à-vis the rest of the world. The instrument classification differentiates between dividends, reinvested earnings, and income on debt.

FDI positions are also classified according to the directional principle, split into net FDI positions abroad and net FDI positions in the reporting economy. The instrument classification differentiates between equity (including reinvested earnings) and debt instruments.

For all FDI statistics, the geographical allocation is made according to the economic residence of the immediate direct investor or immediate direct investment enterprise, and the recommended classification by activity is that of the direct investment enterprise (to avoid asymmetry issues).  The industrial activity level is based on ISIC4/NACE Rev.2.

International Trade in Services data are presented in line with the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS 2010).

Known deviations:

Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 (ESA2010) (par. 5.119) and the BPM6 Manual (par. 5.42) provide that funds between deposit-taking corporations are always recorded as deposits. Concerning deposit/loans liabilities of deposit-taking corporations to other counterparts, BPM6 foresees the additional convention that these are to be recorded as deposits, irrespective of the maturity, while ESA 2010 restricts this to short-term funds. Concerning deposit/loans assets of deposit-taking corporations vis-à-vis other counterparts BPM6 foresees the additional convention that these are to be recorded as loans, while ESA 2010 (in § 5.118) makes a similar reference for short-term loans.

Specifically for euro area: The definition of reserve assets is in line with BPM6 guidelines. However, as a member of the euro area, the definition of monetary reserves in a MS’s BOP includes (inter alia) only those liquid claims denominated in foreign currency that the MS’s central bank holds on non-euro area residents. Claims on residents of other euro area countries, regardless of the currency, are part of other external assets.

Germany

The classification used to compile Germany's b.o.p. is essentially the one set forth in BPM6. Exceptions are noted below.

Financial services: They generally cover fees paid and received in connection with financial transactions. However, fees and commissions related to the sale and purchase of securities are partly recorded in the financial account because they are reported as a lump sum together with the purchase price of the securities. Some entities, however, are reporting them separately.

The classification system used in compiling Germany's external assets and liabilities in principle follows the classification of the BPM6.

The Direct Influence/Indirect Control Method (DIIC) as outlined in Annex 4 of the fourth edition of the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment is used for identifying the extent and type of direct investment relationships in Germany with the restriction that the ownership chain breaks always after the first non-controlling link (either after the preceding controlling links or when the first link is a non-controlling link.)

Data on foreign direct investment stocks are classified according to NACE Rev.2, the statistical classification of economic activities in the European community which is a derived classification of the international standard industrial classification of all economic activities (ISIC Rev.4).

Institutional units are grouped into institutional sectors according to similar economic objectives, functions, and behaviour.

The sector classifications based on the BOP Vademecum are:

Central bank (S.121); Monetary Financial Institutions (MFI) other than central bank (S.122) (incl. Deposit-taking corporations except the central bank; Money Market Funds (S.123)); General government (S.13); and Other sectors.

The Other Sectors consist of Financial Corporations other than MFIs (S.12); Non-Financial Corporations (S.11); Households (S.14); and Non-profit institutions serving households (S.15).

Exception to BPM6:

A deviation from the BPM6 sector classification is that Money Market Funds are part of Other sectors (in BPM6) whereas they are part of the MFI sector for European Statistics according to the Vademecum.

Germany

The sectorization used to compile Germany's b.o.p. is essentially the one set forth in BPM6.

FDI data by institutional sectors – as required by balance of payments and international investment position statistics – are derived from the classification by economic activities.

 I.i.p. data are published with a breakdown by sector (i. e. general government, monetary authorities, MFIs and other sectors, such as other financial and non-financial corporations) and by type of investment (i. e. direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives, other investment and reserve assets).

The overall conceptual framework of BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS are in broad conformity with the most recent manuals as well as the EC Guidelines and Eurostat’s Vademecum.

Statistical concepts and definitions relate to basic internationally accepted standards and guidelines for external sector statistics; for instance:

• All resident-nonresident transactions covered;
• The concept of residency adhered to;
• For the BOP, the concept of gross reporting is followed for the current and capital account; and the net basis for financial account transactions (separately for the individual asset and liability components);
• The change of economic ownership principle soundly applied;
• FDI is defined as equity ownership representing 10 percent or more of the voting power;
• The accrual basis is broadly applied;
• Market values or appropriate substitute measures are used;#
• the residence of Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) is attributed to the economy in which they are legally domiciled or incorporated;
• Overall, the classification, netting and ordering in the IIP is consistent with BPM6; current, capital, and financial accounts of the balance of payments statement are defined according to the BPM6.

Known Deviation (Source: Vademecum):

BOP/IIP data are to be compiled following the debtor/creditor approach, instead of the “transactor” approach. In other words, the geographical allocation of assets/credits is to be done on the basis of the residency of the issuer/debtor and not of the “transactor”. This is particularly relevant for portfolio and direct investment functional categories, which record tradable instruments. This approach is to be followed consistently in the geographical and sector allocation of investment income, financial transactions and stocks.

Germany

Germany's b.o.p. statistics are generally consistent with the overall conceptual framework of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual, sixth edition (BPM6). This revised standard is also binding for the EU member states by virtue of a Commission regulation and by an ECB guideline that specifies the reporting requirements for Eurosystem national central banks vis-à-vis the European Central Bank (ECB).

Current, capital and financial accounts of the b.o.p. are defined in accordance with BPM6 guidelines.

The double-entry system followed in the German b.o.p. statement ensures that net lending/net borrowing recorded as the balance of the current and capital account in principle is equal to the net lending/net borrowing as recorded in the financial account balance. The net residual is embedded in the errors and omissions item and equals the financial ac-count balance minus the balance on the current and capital account.

Within the current account, goods and services components and primary and secondary income components are clearly distinguished. Transactions in the current and capital account are recorded and presented on a gross basis; for receipts and expenditure separately. In the financial account, transactions in assets and liabilities are recorded separately.

Foreign direct investment is presented on a gross assets and liabilities basis. Data on a directional basis (i.e., inward and outward direct investment) are provided in supplementary tables.

The concept of residency applied in the German b.o.p. follows the international standards. Resident institutional units are defined in conformity with BPM6 as those that have a center of predominant economic interest in Germany.

International or supranational organizations that are located in Germany, such as the ECB, are not considered residents of the German economy, whereas their employees are treated as German residents. General government units (e.g., embassies, military bases) located abroad, including their German staff, are considered as German residents. Conversely, such units belonging to foreign governments and located in Germany are treated as nonresidents. The residence of enterprises operating in German free trade zones, unincorporated branches and special purpose entities located in Germany are all attributed to the German economy.

Regarding the definition of b.o.p. transactions, the German b.o.p. records both exchanges and unrequited transfers. Most of these transfers are government transfers to and from the EU. Transfers to the EU are largely contributions to the EU budget and are, by definition, classified as secondary income. Transfers from the EU are classified either as secondary income or as capital transfers, consistent with the BPM6 guidelines.

 The strict application of the change of ownership principle with regard to goods flows as required by BPM6, entails the recording of transactions of goods under merchanting in the goods account and the recording of value added of man-ufacturing services in the services account.

 The definition of the secondary income account is in accordance with the recommendations set out in the BPM6. In the capital account the distribution of realized capital gains of reinsurance companies is recorded as capital transfers, due to consistency reasons between German national accounts (according to ESA 2010) and b.o.p.. In the financial account, transactions in assets and in liabilities are recorded separately. In addition, for most of the assets and liabilities compo-nents of the financial account, also gross data on new investments and liquidations are available. Only financial de-rivatives are recorded net, that is, as the overall balance of transactions in both assets and liabilities. This treatment accords with the treatment in the euro area b.o.p.

The international investment position (i.i.p.) for Germany is the statistical statement that presents the value and composition of the stock of German financial claims on non-residents and German financial liabilities to non- residents as of the end of the respective period.

 The i.i.p. of Germany is compiled by the Deutsche Bundesbank and complies with the guidelines of the IMF's BPM6.

 The concept of residency applied in the German i.i.p. follows the recommendations of BPM6.

Geographic coverage: For the purpose of i.i.p. statistics, the economic territory covers the geographical territory administered by the German Federal Government. It includes that part of the continental shelf which is part of the Federal Republic under international agreements. The economic territory also includes free zones, warehouses and territorial exclaves, such as German embassies, consulates and military bases that are located in other countries. It excludes territorial enclaves used by other foreign governments or international organizations that are located in Germany.

 I.i.p. data are published with a breakdown by sector (i. e. general government, monetary authorities, MFIs and other sectors, such as other financial and non-financial corporations) and by type of investment (i. e. direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives, other investment and reserve assets).

 Data are available on a quarterly basis with a time-lag of 3 months after the end of the reference quarter. Every year in September, an i.i.p. for the preceding year-end is compiled on the basis of more detailed data sources and is published as a press release https://www.bundesbank.de/en/press/press-releases

As from March 2015, with data for the reporting year 2013, the concepts, coverage, valuation, and classification of data collected in the CDIS are consistent with the sixth edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual and the fourth edition of the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment.

Specific remarks:

For electricity and gas trading via commodity forward contracts, the accounting practice in Germany's b.o.p. statistics has been aligned with international practices. These forward transactions between residents and non-residents, which frequently occur in the form of chain transactions and therefore result in a sizeable increase in the gross figures, are recorded solely under "financial derivatives" in the financial account. Only actual cross-border electricity deliveries as defined in the foreign trade statistics remain in the goods account.

With the implementation of BPM6, the treatment of insurance and pension services is aligned with the recording of domestic transactions in the national accounts. Similarly, financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) since then are recognized in the German b.o.p, statistics. Also, the differentiated approach to recording transactions involving intellectual property as recommended in BPM6 is implemented in the German b.o.p. statistics.

 However, minor classification differences with regard to the international standard still exist for the services component. For example, a part of the construction services is recorded under goods as the exported/imported goods for con-struction cannot be identified in foreign trade. Regarding financial services, while fees and commissions related to the sale and purchase of securities should be recorded as services, they are partly recorded in the financial account because some entities report them as a lump sum together with the purchase price of the securities. While asset management costs should be recorded as financial services, they are recorded as part of investment income. For travel credits, data sources do not provide a monthly distinction between business and personal travel. No offsetting entries are made in the financial account for income accrued but not paid.

 Investment income data are reported on a settlement basis. Accrued interest for other investment is estimated using an aggregate approach. Accrued interest on debt securities received by resident investors is calculated on a security-by-security basis using the ECB's Centralised Securities Database as from reference year 2013 onwards. No offsetting en-tries are made in the financial account for income accrued but not paid. The breakdown of investment income corre-sponds to that used for recording financial transactions and for the international investment position.

With regard to portfolio investment, transaction values are in general reported as lump sum, thus including fees, commissions and accrued interest. In the category other investment, German bonds are classified as loans in line with money and banking statistics and banks' accounting practice.

 Foreign direct investment is generally recorded according to the asset/liability principle. For identifying direct in-vestment, the rule of 10 percent in ownership or in voting power is applied, rather than the recommended criterion of 10 percent in voting power. Still, loans between affiliated enterprises are excluded from FDI other capital, if just one MFI is involved. Apart from this exception, all long-term and short-term loans between affiliates are included. Credit relationships between fellow enterprises which have no direct investment relationship but belong to the same group are recorded separately within direct investment transactions.

 Transactions in securities between affiliates are not included in other capital, but are recorded under portfolio investment. Cross-border construction projects which exist for more than one year are also treated as a separate fictitious unit within the direct investment group and the activities carried out as part of the project are thus classified as direct investment and related primary income. Moreover, the output of services of owner-occupied dwellings is recorded under other investment income beginning with the reporting year 2010.

 The definition of reserve assets is in line with BPM6 guidelines and with the recommendations of the International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity (Guidelines for a Data Template). As a member of the euro area, the definition of monetary reserves in the German b.o.p. includes in addition to gold holdings, Special Drawing Rights and the Reserve Position in the Fund, only those liquid claims denominated in foreign currency that the Bundesbank holds on non-euro area residents. The Bundesbank's claims on residents of other EMU member states, regardless of the currency, are part of other external assets.

 Some (minor) deviations from the internationally accepted methodology are persisting in the German b.o.p. statis-tics due to practical challenges within the statistical collection framework. Such deviations are kept under review.

Institutional units are defined in conformity with BPM6 and relate to those that have a predominant centre of economic interest in the country. In principle, any individual, corporation or other institution that provides information on the transactions/positions between the residents and non-residents of a country during a given period is included. Resident institutional units engaged with nonresidents also cover in principle:

• incorporated or unincorporated affiliates of nonresident companies; and SPEs with little or no physical presence;
• resident territorial enclaves in the rest of the world (e.g., embassies, military basis);
• free zones/bonded warehouses/factories operated by offshore enterprises under customs control;
• Citizens who work or live temporarily in another country (seasonal and cross border commuters, students and patients).

Germany

Any individual, corporation or other institution that provides information on the transactions or positions between the residents and non-residents of a country during a given period.

Statistical Unites are defined according to EU 2223/96.

Germany

The balance of payments statistical population includes all the economic transactions and positions between residents and non-residents. The coverage of the statistical population assured by the reported transactions and positions can be very different for different BOP items. Information on the transactions and positions can be provided by individuals, corporations or institutions.

Balance of Payments

The balance of payments records all economic transactions between residents and non-residents within a given time period and thus shows a country’s complex economics links with the rest of the world.

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/balance-of-payments/methodological-notes-794532

Foreign Direct Investment

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is defined as cross-border investment in enterprises with the objective of establishing a lasting and significant influence over business activities. Where investors hold 10% or more of the shares or voting rights, they are considered to have a significant degree of influence. A strategic long-term relationship is what differentiates FDI from portfolio investment.

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/direct-investments/methodological-notes-795220

International Investment Position

An economy’s i.i.p. captures the marked-to-market financial assets and liabilities of residents vis-à-vis non-residents at the end of each quarter.

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/international-investment-position-and-external-debt/methodological-notes-794946

The reference area describes the geographical area covered by the data disseminated. According to the BOP Vademecum, the reference area is the economic territory, country, or region for which external sector statistics are provided. The country code list follows the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 classification and is a "cross-domain" code list, used also in National Accounts. The codes used for various regional groupings are harmonized across international agencies that use the BOP-DSD.

The reference area is Germany.

January 1971- February 2023

Not applicable.

All data sent to Eurostat are in Millions of Euro for Euro Area countries and in Millions of National currency for non-Euro Area countries. The unit of dissemination is Euro.

Germany

Data are available in millions of euro and millions of national currency. Some data are also disseminated as share of GDP and share of world exports.

The monthly (MBOP), quarterly (QBOP) BOP, and quarterly FDI transactions summarize economic transactions between residents and nonresidents during the respective reference period.  The annual ITS dataset summarizes services transactions over the period of one year.

The quarterly IIP statement as well as the annual FDI stock statistics refer to a point in time at the end of the reference period; i.e., the last day of a quarter or year, respectively. The other changes in financial assets and liabilities of the IIP statement (revaluations due to exchange rate, revaluations due to other price changes and other changes in the volume) reconcile the BOP and IIP during a specific period.

In the case of Germany the reference period are as follow: monthly, quaterly and yearly BOP and FDI stock, quaterly and yearly FDI flows and IIP,  yearly ITS statistics.

Institutional Mandate at national level

Institutional Mandate – in European level

• Regulation no 184/2005 of The European Parliament and of the Council of 12 January 2005 on Community statistics concerning balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment,
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 601/2006,
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 602/2006,
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 707/2009,
• Commission Regulation (EU) No 555/2012,
• Regulation (EU) 2016/1013
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/505 of 19 December 2018
• Quality reports for the BoP domain are prepared in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1227/2010 of 20 December 2010 implementing Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 (OJ No L 283/3).

All statistics compiled by the Bundesbank are subject to the same confidentiality regime as other federal statistics. Article 18 of the Bundesbank Act refers to Article 16 of the Federal Statistics Act, which requires that individual data be kept confidential unless otherwise determined by another legal instrument. 

BOP Vademecum (2021): Chapter V “Statistical confidentiality” of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics regulates protection and transmissions of confidential data within ESS and ESCB. Confidentiality status attribute is mandatory in BOP and FDI DSDs and thus each observation has to be flagged with a confidentiality status.

When the information is already released and disseminated by the national compiler (e.g. it is published on the national compiler's website) applying confidentiality status attributes such as C "Primary confidential statistical information", D “secondary confidentiality set and managed by the national compiler” or N "Not for publication, restricted for internal use only" is not justified.

Quality issues should be much less frequent for quarterly BOP and IIP data. The confidentiality status attribute "Not for publication, restricted for internal use only" - N flag – shall be used conservatively and rather in cases of more detailed breakdowns (e.g. geographical, instrument or sector breakdown). Using confidentiality status (C or D or N flags) to suppress publication of data with insufficient quality should be avoided. Observation status with U flag (low reliability) should be used instead. This would indicate existing observations and, at the same time, users will be aware of the low quality assigned.

In the case of Germany confidentiality-data treatment applies to:

- the Balance of Payments by means of primary suppression applying the dominance rule (2,k) and secondary suppression using modular algorithm (TauArgus);

- the Foreign Direct Investment data is also treated using primary suppression in terms of amount of unites and secondary suppression using the modular algorithm (TauArgus) 

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 1.1.2.The analysis in this section focuses on the availability of the data to the users. The tables present the number of cells flagged as confidential and non - publishable, compared with the total number of cells that have to be provided according to the BOP Regulation.

In reference to Germany´s Quality Report Chapter 1.1.2 the C- and D-flags are only due to statistical confidentially and not due to quality issues of the data. In particular, unflagged cells for ITS Main (75%) und ITS Total (64%).

Eurostat release calendar can be found under http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/news/release-calendar

Eurostat Website:

BOP: monthly and quarterly

FDI flows and stocks: annually

IIP: quarterly and annually        

ITS: annually

Balance of Payments

 The Bundesbank provides data on the current account to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and the Federal Statistics Office (FSO) one or two days before issuing its press release on the b.o.p.. The FSO releases the major current account aggregates (ahead of the Bundesbank) in its press release on monthly foreign trade statistics.

The complete b.o.p. data are released by the Bundesbank simultaneously to all interested parties by issuing a press release distributed to the media and posted on the Bundesbank's website (in German only). Users can also sign up for a free e-mail notification service to alert them when the data are disseminated.

Customized tabulations and more detailed data is made available, on request. In most cases, the data are provided free of charge. However, if the data are not readily extractable from the databases and require computer programming, a fee is charged. In such cases, users are informed in advance of the expected costs.

International Investment Position

The data are simultaneously released to all interested parties by posting the quarterly data on the Bundesbank´s website.

In principle, the i.i.p. information is available vis-à-vis the rest of the world and vis-à-vis groups of countries. This information is, however, not regularly published.

Customized tabulations and more detailed data is made available, on request.

First results on the CDIS for Germany are available through publication on the IMF's website simultaneously to all users. At the national level, these data are not available due to the fact that first preliminary data for the CDIS are delivered from German International Investment Position (IIP). However, IIP in general publishes FDI data following the asset-liability principle. Only for data delivery to the CDIS data is compiled following the extended directional principle (xDP).

German annual FDI (following xDP) survey become available in April of the following year (t+16); revised German CDIS data are delivered to the IMF in September (t+21) and made available through the IMF's CDIS database by end of the year. However, published national FDI data and CDIS data are not fully congruent due to the fact that in national FDI breakdowns market values, real estate and construction is not in-cluded.

The same applies when results of the annual FDI survey become available and revised German CDIS data are made available through the IMF's CDIS database, the Bundesbank's revised international investment position data and by publishing the statistical series on the Bundesbank's website.

Users may receive additional, more detailed breakdowns of data upon request, taking into account confidentiality aspects.

https://www.bundesbank.de/de/statistiken/aussenwirtschaft

At Eurostat, the database for external sector statistics gives access to the following statistics:

• Monthly and quarterly BOP and quarterly IIP statistics;
• Annual data on ITS;
• Annual data on FDI positions, transactions and income;
• Detailed data on international transactions involving the European institutions.

Harmonized data is available for the European Union, the euro area, the EU Member States, the United Kingdom, EFTA countries, candidate and potential candidate countries.

 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/balance-of-payments/data/database

Germany´s External sector statistical time series:

https://www.bundesbank.de/dynamic/action/en/statistics/time-series-databases/time-series-databases/743796/743796?treeAnchor=AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT&statisticType=BBK_ITS 

Not applicable.

Length of QBoP and QIIP time series available to the users

For further information on our Research Data and Service Centre (RDSC), please follow the link:

The Bundesbank also disseminates data to IMF, UN, Eurostat, ECB, BIS, OECD, Destatis and BMWi

Not applicable.

Methodological notes:

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/balance-of-payments/methodological-notes-794532

Statistical Series Balance of payments statistics, Page 63: 

https://www.bundesbank.de/resource/blob/884014/32763f74cc24f6cb02c51406d9065e21/mL/2022-01-20-09-38-58-zahlungsbilanzstatistik-data.pdf

Statistical Series International Investment Position:

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/international-investment-position-and-external-debt/methodological-notes-794946

Statistical Series International Investment Position and external debt, Page 22:

https://www.bundesbank.de/resource/blob/885540/0ae61948b286d2d60054a2338f332437/mL/2022-02-18-09-38-12-auslandsvermoegens-und-verschuldung-data.pdf

Not applicable.

The importance of the quality of statistical data is emphasized and promoted throughout the Bundesbank. A commitment to compile and disseminate quality statistics, considered fundamental to well-founded economic decision making as well as for sound forecasting, is communicated to the public through appropriate publications, on the Bundesbank’s website, as well as in public speeches or statements.

As a member of the ESCB, the Bundesbank shares the mission, strategic intent, and organizational principles of the ESCB, which are laid down in the public commitment statements on European Statistics. In short, and in line with the Eurosystem Mission Statement, ESCB Statistics are governed by a set of principles referring to the ESCB´s institutional environment, statistical processes and statistical output. Among other things, the principles highlight the importance that the ESCB attaches to credibility, trust, transparency, and accountability in fulfilling its tasks. The mission statement, strategic intent, and organizational principles of the Eurosystem have been distributed to all staff and are published by all ESCB members.

Staff training in statistics, both through formal courses and on-the-job training, highlights the importance of data quality.

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/balance-of-payments/quality-794546

This indicator refers to the quality assurance framework (QAF) in place within an organisation to manage the quality of statistical products and processes.

Quality monitoring

Measures for maintaining or improving data quality are regularly addressed in annual work programs. Management is aware of trade-offs among dimensions of quality, such as between consistency with other data sets and maintaining a regular and transparent revision schedule or between timeliness and accuracy. These trade-offs are taken into account when choices are made.

Trade-offs are also discussed at the level of the ECB’s Statistics Committee, which advises the ECB Council on guidelines for statistical production, and the Committee on Monetary, Financial, and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMFB), which assists the European Commission in developing and implementing statistical work programs.

Balance of payments

The quality of the b.o.p. statistics is monitored continuously. Processes have been established and measures are in place to detect errors at various levels of the collection and compilation process. An early information and alert system is established to ensure that management of the Balance of Payments, International Investment Position division is informed at the earliest convenience on preliminary results and possible problems of the monthly b.o.p.. The tables distributed to management of the division prior to the publication

are produced when most of the information for the monthly results has been processed. They usually lack information on the short-term financial transactions of non-financial enterprises, which are the last data to be finalized before publication. These tables are used to assess the broad developments and can give a first indication of the magnitude of monthly errors and omissions.

The ECB regularly assesses data quality of euro area b.o.p. and i.i.p. data, including the euro area Member States' contributions to the aggregate. These assessments are distributed to the national data providers for monitoring purposes. In January 2005, the ECB began publishing an annual balance of payments data quality report. The report is restricted to an assessment of the euro area data.

Eurostat also assesses the quality of the national balance of payments data in an annual quality report. The results are also provided to the national compilers.

In the course of the Marcoeconomic Imbalances Procedure (MIP) the quality of statistics underlying these indicators are submitted quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that these statistics are reliable and comparable across member States of the European Union. The German self-assessment report on the quality of balance of payments statistics is published on the website of the Committee on Monetary, Financial, and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMFB): https://www.cmfb.org/main-topics/balance-of- payments

The Bundesbank also has a legal obligation to the ECB and Eurostat to assess and monitor the quality of national contributions to euro area and EU b.o.p. aggregates. In this context, the central bank annually reviews a national action plan for b.o.p. statistics to maintain quality and ensure implementation of required actions.

International investment position

The quality of the i.i.p., statistics is monitored continuously. Processes have been established and measures are in place to detect errors at various levels of the collection and compilation process. Moreover, the changes in stocks are reconciled with the b.o.p. flows of the period under review as a further means of quality check.

The ECB also regularly assesses data quality of euro area b.o.p. and i.i.p. data, including the euro area Member States' contributions to the aggregate. These assessments are distributed to the national data providers for monitoring purposes. Eurostat also assesses the quality of the national i.i.p. data in an annual quality report. The results are also provided to the national compilers.

In the course of the Marcoeconomic Imbalances Procedure (MIP) the quality of statistics underlying these indicators are submitted quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that these statistics are reliable and comparable across member States of the European Union.

The German self-assessment report on the quality of international investment statistics is published on the website of the Committee on Monetary, Financial, and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMFB): https://www.cmfb.org/main-topics/balance-of-payments

Data quality is explicitly reflected in the strategic goals of the Statistics Department, and measures for maintaining or improving data quality are regularly addressed in the annual work programs. Management is aware of trade-offs among dimensions of quality, such as between consistency with other data sets and maintaining a regular and transparent revision schedule or between timeliness and accuracy. These trade- offs are taken into account when choices are made.

Trade-offs are also discussed at the level of the ECB’s Statistics Committee, which advises the ECB Council on guidelines for statistical production, and the Committee on Monetary, Financial, and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMFB), which assists the European Commission in developing and implementing statistical work programs.

This indicator refers to the Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 7 and 8: Overall Assessment.

Assessment Report Quality Report 2022:

1. Relevance

Germany provided the complete datasets as required by the Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 January 2005 and amended by the Commission Regulation (EU) No 555/2012 of 22 June 2012[1] to Eurostat related to monthly BOP, quarterly BOP, quarterly IIP, quarterly revaluations and annual FDI. Germany was not fully compliant regarding the transmission of annual ITS (97%) and FDI (99%). Germany made almost all monthly BOP (98%), quarterly BOP (95%), quarterly IIP (100%) and quarterly revaluations as well as all FDI flows for reporting years 2019 and 2020 publicly available to users. Data availability for ITSS and FDI stocks for reporting years 2019 was 83% and 85%. The values for 2020 are 78% (ITSS) and 95% (FDI stocks). The availability of data was limited only due to statistical confidentiality.

2. Accuracy

Upwards revision were for many monthly and quarterly BOP, FDI and IIP transactions significantly above and for some transactions well below the given threshold of 40% - 60%. Directional reliability for all monthly and quarterly BOP transactions was above 80%. Values for SMAPE were generally low for all monthly and quarterly BOP and IIP transactions.

The share of unallocated partner or activity was 1% for ITS, 0% for FDI stocks and only relevant for FDI flows at t+21 months, where for income on FDI and FDI abroad the share of unallocated partner countries was 22% respectively 37%.

The vintage analysis has shown some moderate revisions for ITSS and FDI positions for reporting years 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Data for FDI flows in general were revised to a larger extent, because of late inputs and corrections of reported data driven by equity and debt instruments. Also new data from secondary sources, i.e. reinvested earnings values (RIE) and debt instruments produced such revisions.

Revised data from RIE resulted in large percentage changes. The income from RIE was reduced in the reporting years 2017 and 2020. The large reduction on the expenditure side of the RIE affected - in contrast to the income - the reporting years 2018 and 2019.

The corresponding offsetting entries are - according to international standards - also visible in the same amount in the financial account i.e. direct investments.

3. Timeliness and Punctuality

Germany has transmitted all required data for monthly and quarterly BOP, quarterly IIP, quarterly revaluations, ITS, FDI flows and income and stocks within the respective deadlines, except the monthly BoP 01/2021 (+1 day due to a technical problem). For ITS and FDI, data sets were delivered well- in-advance  with -30 and -15 days.

4. Accessibility and Clarity

German data transmitted to Eurostat for monthly BOP, quarterly BOP, quarterly IIP and revaluations, as well as annual FDI and ITS, were disseminated without differences at national level. Metadata were available for all statistical domains. Very comprehensive quarterly BOP, IIP and FDI data time series starting from 1Q1991 respectively 4Q1999 onwards were available for users at national level and at the Eurostat database.

5. Comparability

In ITSS Germany had the largest bilateral asymmetries with France, the Netherlands and Austria on the export side and with Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France on the import side. Regarding FDI transactions with the France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The highest absolute asymmetries for total income from the FDI abroad were recorded with the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The highest asymmetries for total income from the FDI in the reporting economy were recorded with the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In the financial account, high asymmetries for stocks were recorded with the Netherlands, Switzerland and Luxembourg, and for flows with Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain.

Regarding Services and FDI stocks, Germany is currently carrying out several bilateral reconciliation exercises jointly with USA and NL (FDI stocks) and with AT (FDI Income). Furthermore, we take part in asymmetry workshops sponsored by international organisations (OECD, Eurostat, IMF) and participate actively in the FDI network and ECBs Asymmetry Resolution Meeting (ARM). Until 2011, Germany has been in an ongoing process to exchange data with the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) in order to identify methodological differences to reduce asymmetries in FDI stocks. Bilateral exchange was also conducted with the Office for National Statistics of UK. The exchange ended due to confidentiality constraints after Brexit.

6. Coherence

Germany has shown for monthly BOP, quarterly BOP, quarterly IIP, quarterly revaluations, as well as annual ITS and FDI data full consistency with the integrity rules. Full consistencies between monthly and quarterly BOP and between quarterly and annual ITSS and FDI data have been achieved for all domains. BOP and IIP data could be fully reconciled.

The measure for relative net errors and omissions (ARE) indicated for Germany values that are lower than the EU median for IIP, as well as for current account for time period 2016Q3-2019Q2. The values for Germany are higher than the EU median for current account for the time periods 2017Q3-2020Q2 and 2018Q3-2021Q2. Concerning the cumulated net E&O a decrease could be observed since reporting year 2015 until 2020 and an increase after this period.

The analysis regarding Errors and Omission shows in general a similar development as to last year´s data. In relation to CA and IIP, the figures continue to be reasonable, especially taking into account developments regarding the growth of gross cross border transactions in the aftermath of Brexit.

The analysis of the directional consistency between ITGS and BOP showed for exports of goods and also for imports of goods values higher than the threshold of 80%.

Differences between BOP and National Accounts data for all current account items and the capital account existed.

Germany confirmed that the differences for goods are only due to different data vintages. Discrepancies for services were due to different data vintages for insurance services and FISIM. For compensation of employees a different revision policy and a different treatment for employee stock option were responsible for the detected differences. For Investment/property income data vintages stemming from FISIM were responsible. With regards to discrepancies related to secondary income data vintages originated in different data sources, different application of accrual accounting and consistency requirements in the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) framework were responsible.

Work to reduce these differences is ongoing.

7. Overall assessment

This report focuses primarily on the factual requirements of Member States to compile and transmit BOP, IIP, ITS and FDI data and their compliance with the legal obligations. In addition, it provides information relevant for assessing the quality of BOP, IIP, ITS and FDI data, with particular emphasis on total aggregates and major components needed to compile the aggregates. German BOP, IIP, ITS and FDI data transmitted to Eurostat were in line with the EU requirements and compliant with the guidelines included in the BPM6 and the BD4 manuals. Adequate explanations for the existing inconsistencies and challenges were provided.

Eurostat appreciates Germany's undertaken efforts to maintain and further improve the overall quality of BOP/IIP, ITS and FDI data especially by participating in organized asymmetries workshops and also by being an active member of the FDI network.

To guarantee the quality of results, European statistics shall be developed, produced and disseminated on the basis of uniform standards and of harmonised methods. In this respect, Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council quality criteria (a) ‘relevance’ refers to the degree to which statistics meet current and potential needs of the users. Meeting the requirements of the EC Regulation on community statistics concerning balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment confirms relevance for the user “Eurostat” as recipient of the data sets on behalf of its user community.

Furthermore, relevance is also indirectly accomplished by countries participating in domain specific committees and working groups as well as the worldwide update of the manuals whose aim it is to keep the standards and statistics as relevant as possible going forward.

The Directorate General Statistics actively participates in numerous international and European working groups, which include representatives of other major data users such as the ECB, the European Commission, and other international organizations. Further, the Bundesbank is a consultative member of the Statistical Advisory Committee on statistics of the FSO and also participates in relevant specialist committees of the Advisory Committee.

The Bundesbank is a member of the German Statistical Society, the International Statistical Institute (ISI), and the Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics and regularly contributes to their Meetings.

At the national level, the Balance of Payments Statistics and International Investment Position Division regularly contacts main users of German b.o.p. data, such as the Economics Department of the Bundesbank, ministries, the national statistical office and other principal data users in order to be aware of emerging new national data needs, to discuss priorities and trade-offs, and to receive feedback on intended changes in methods, presentations, etc., if applicable.

On specific occasions, the Bundesbank has conducted user surveys in the past, addressed to a wider range of users, including research institutes, professional associations, etc. The continuous flow of data requests and other inquiries received from different users is documented and periodically analyzed to identify emerging data needs and to adapt the publication program according to these needs.

At the national level, the Balance of Payments Statistics and International Investment Position Division regularly contacts main users of German b.o.p. data, such as the Economics Department of the Bundesbank, ministries, the national statistical office and other principal data users in order to be aware of emerging new national data needs, to discuss priorities and trade-offs, and to receive feedback on intended changes in methods, presentations, etc., if applicable.

On specific occasions, the Bundesbank has conducted user surveys in the past, addressed to a wider range of users, including research institutes, professional associations, etc. The continuous flow of data requests and other inquiries received from different users is documented and periodically analyzed to identify emerging data needs and to adapt the publication program according to these needs.

This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report 1.1.1. Data availability- completeness.

At the national level, the Balance of Payments Statistics and International Investment Position Division regularly contacts main users of German b.o.p. data, such as the Economics Department of the Bundesbank, ministries, the national statistical office and other principal data users in order to be aware of emerging new national data needs, to discuss priorities and trade-offs, and to receive feedback on intended changes in methods, presentations, etc., if applicable.

On specific occasions, the Bundesbank has conducted user surveys in the past, addressed to a wider range of users, including research institutes, professional associations, etc. The continuous flow of data requests and other inquiries received from different users is documented and periodically analyzed to identify emerging data needs and to adapt the publication program according to these needs.

Data completeness – the provided cells expressed as % of required cells refers to the completeness of BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS data provided to Eurostat based on the requirements of the BOP Regulation.

Accuracy of data is the closeness of computations or estimates to the exact or true values that the statistics were intended to measure.

Accuracy is being measured using three concepts: Reliability; Vintage Analysis; and Plausibility. See 13.1.

This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 2.  

(i) Accuracy can be measured using the concept of Reliability - defined as the closeness of the initial estimated value to the subsequent estimated value. This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report 2.1.1. Quantitative assessment of revisions. Complementary information on Revisions are also provided under S17 Data Revision.

The quantitative analysis focuses on the size of revisions, their direction and the reliability of trends using the data provided by countries to Eurostat.

For the Monthly BOP, Quarterly BOP and Quarterly IIP items, revisions are assessed using two types of indicators both of which are based on the comparison between first and last assessments:

- Directional stability indicators measure how often the first assessment is subsequently revised in the same direction (the upward revisions ratio and the directional reliability indicator).

- Relative size indicators measure the difference between the first and the last assessments. These absolute differences may be quantified relative to the underlying series (when strictly positive) or to the underlying outstanding amounts. These indicators are the symmetric mean absolute percentage ratio, mean absolute comparative ratio and for net/balance series the net relative revisions.

(ii) Accuracy can be measured using the concept of Vintage Analysis. This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report 2.1.2 Vintage Analysis. For the assessment of annual data (ITSS, credit and debit, FDI flows and positions, inward and outward), the analysis focuses on the differences between the values as reported in the last 4 data deliveries to Eurostat. The counterpart area is Extra EU27 and Rest of the World.

(iii) Accuracy can be measured using the concept of Plausibility – referring to the absence of unexplained changes. This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report 2.2. Plausibility. This concept calculates the share of unallocated partner or activity from total (%) for ITS, FDI flows and positions.

In the case of Germany, the following is to be highlighted:

The revisions to international trade in services and direct investment (transactions) result from late and corrected reports as well as more recent information from secondary sources (including estimation methods). The revisions to direct investments (positions) only originate from late reports and corrections.

 We confirm the audits reported in the quality report for the reporting years 2018 to 2020, which were carried out in the 2022 calendar year.

 In international trade in services with "Extra EU27" and "Rest of World", the revisions in the 2020 reporting year are due to higher expenses for transport services (+2.7 bn /+3.8 bn euros) and receipts for "other business services" (+1.5 bn / +3.0 bn euros).

In the case of direct investments (transactions), the revisions in the country aggregate "Extra EU-27" in FDI abroad for the 2020 reporting year are based on high disinvestments in equity capital (equity capital other than reinvested earnings (-4.7 bn euros) and reinvested earnings (-4.9 bn euros)) attributed. In the country aggregate (rest of the world), on the other hand, the high revisions for FDI abroad and FDI in RE for the 2020 reporting year can be attributed to all FDI functional categories (equity capital, including reinvested earnings and debt instruments).

Germany’s collection system is not a sampling survey. 

Not applicable. 

Scope of the data

In principle, Germany's b.o.p. statistics cover all transactions between residents (of the Federal Republic of Germany) and nonresidents. Resident institutional units are defined in conformity with the BPM6 concepts of economic territory and center of predominant economic interest.

In line with BPM6, the scope also covers an integrated statement of external statistics which reconciles the i.i.p. with the b.o.p. by allocating changes in i.i.p. stock data to financial account transactions, valuation effects resulting from exchange rate and market price movements as well as other adjustments.

The economic territory covers the geographical territory administered by the German Federal Government. It includes that part of the continental shelf which is part of the Federal Republic under international agreements. The economic territory also includes free zones, warehouses and territorial exclaves, such as German embassies, consulates and military bases that are located in other countries. It excludes territorial enclaves of foreign embassies and international organizations that are located in Germany.

B.o.p. data are compiled in accordance with the BPM6 methodology from mid-2013 onwards, back data have been calculated on the basis of a conversion matrix up to 1991- and for the main components up to 1971, though with less detail for some components since data sources have been adapted to BPM6 requirements only in mid-2013.

Exceptions to coverage

In practice, constraints on data sources may preclude full coverage in some areas, as follows:

Direct investment earnings data do not include the relevant share of all indirectly owned direct investment enterprises.

Data on income from (short-term) trade credits are incomplete and no estimates are made.

Reporting gaps exist for the portfolio transactions (and positions) of resident individuals that are undertaken (held in custody) with banks abroad. Estimates to close these gaps, which are based mainly on information from the securities holdings statistics and other sources, are not always sufficiently accurate.

Germany provides data on inward and outward direct investment with component detail on stocks of FDI equity with the exception of equity between fellows, which is recorded under portfolio investment or other investment, respectively. In addition inward and outward debt of resident enterprises is included with the exception of debt relations, when both, direct investor and investment enterprise, are in the financial sector. Furthermore, the Bundesbank reports real estate as part of equity capital.

Only direct investment enterprises with a balance sheet total of more than 3 million Euro (or equivalent) have to be reported.

Direct investment: The main data source for compiling the direct investment positions is balance sheet data on foreign and domestic direct investment enterprises from the Deutsche Bundesbank's annual foreign direct investment stock statistics. However, since the results of this annual survey are available only with a time-lag of 16 months after the end of the reporting date, preliminary FDI positions, i.e. the first results after 9 months of the reference period, have to be compiled from:

a) last known equity capital (FDI stock data) of the previous year plus accumulated flows from the following year stemming from balance of payments statistics;

b) monthly stock statistics on the external assets and liabilities of domestic enterprises, which distinguishes loans between affiliated and non-affiliated enterprises, in the case of other capital. Loans between affiliated enterprises are further to be distinguished by nature of the capital link (Fellow, Direct Investment Enterprises, Direct Investor).

The source data for the Deutsche Bundesbank's annual foreign direct investment stock statistics are:

On the outward side, reported is to be submitted by German enterprises and households which, on the reporting date, have direct (primary) holdings of 10 % or more in an enterprise, branch offices or permanent establishments abroad. Indirect (secondary) holdings have to be submitted if the primary and secondary (via dependent affiliates) share in an enterprise abroad is totalling more than 50 % of the capital shares or voting rights.

On the inward side, reported is to be submitted by every German enterprise in which a non-resident (or several economically linked non-residents) holds 10 % or more of the shares or voting rights in the German enterprise on the balance sheet date. Reports are also required of non-residents' branch offices or permanent establishments in Germany. Indirect participating interests are to be reported if non-residents have a holding of more than 50 % in a domestic enterprise – such enterprises are deemed to be "dependent enterprises" – and if these dependent enterprises themselves have direct or indirect holdings totalling more than 50 % of the shares or voting rights in other domestic enterprises.

For the general reporting by banks and nonbanks, compilation procedures minimize processing errors such as coding, editing, and tabulation errors. Adjustments to individual reports are made only when required or when confirmed with the respondent.

For missing observations and/or under-coverage of the data sources, secondary data sources are used to replace or complement the primary data sources.

Stock data on real estate are accumulated from flows, taking into account price changes and exchange rate changes. Owing to gaps in the available price data and the aggregate method which must be used, however, the figures are subject to certain margins of error. Claims arising from the acquisition of real estate abroad are shown as financial assets. Both private and commercial real estate are shown under direct investment.

Portfolio investment covers long-term debt securities (=original maturity of more than one year), short-term debt securities (original maturity of up to one year), investment fund certificates and equity shares. Portfolio investment assets are, generally, compiled using real stocks from the monthly securities holdings statistics; Foreign portfolio investment holdings of German insurance companies are taken from insurance statistics to comprehensively incorporate holdings in custody abroad. Portfolio investment liabilities are mainly calculated as real stocks from the "residual approach"; i.e. by subtracting residents' holdings of domestic securities from the overall issuances of German securities. An exemption relates to unlisted equites: for the time being they are still derived from the modified accumulation of b.o.p. transactions. The data for the overall issuances of German securities are derived from the Bundesbank's securities statistics. The data for residents' holdings of domestic papers are available from the Bundesbank's securities holdings statistics which also provides the stock data for portfolio investment assets. All data used are based on security-by-security data collection.The data for equity liabilities issued by German MFIs are taken from the Bundesbank's securities holdings statistics.

The category other investment takes into account information from the monthly stock statistics on the external assets and liabilities of domestic MFIs and of domestic enterprises, and general government. In addition BIS data are used as "counterpart" information to identify assets held with foreign banks which were not reported directly by residents.

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Assessment of discrepancies and other problems in statistical outputs

Information about the errors and omissions is disseminated at least twice each month to all responsible staff in the Bundesbank’s Directorate General Statistics well in advance of the publication of the data. First, to inform about the likely magnitude of the monthly errors and omissions item and if it has an unexpected or unusual value. Second, to relate the errors and omissions to selected entries in the financial account. The underlying causes are thoroughly investigated.

Multilateral reconciliation exercises with EU partner countries have also been conducted for specific b.o.p. items (e.g. for travel), which often lead to more visible results.

In some areas, bilateral or multilateral exchange and data comparison are part of the regular compilation process. Intra-EMU and intra-EU asymmetries also continue to be monitored and discussed at the European level. To this respect, Germany participates in the European FDI network, where information about large transactions (>2 bn EUR) and stocks (>3 bn EUR) are exchanged with the counterpart countries’ FDI compiler.

The Bundesbank also compares its data with counterpart data compiled by international organizations. BIS data are used as “counterpart” information to identify assets held by German residents with foreign banks (i.e., holdings abroad that were not reported directly by residents); and CPIS data are used to correct the geographical allocation of German portfolio investment liabilities in the i.i.p..

Reported stock data are compared with transactions reported for balance of payments purposes in the corresponding reporting period. Reported stock data are also assessed for plausibility by comparing with the reports of the previous year and with financial statements of the enterprises.

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Processing error is assessed as non-significant by the Bundesbank´s external sector statistics.

Not applicable. 

According to the provisions of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 184/2005 and ECB Guideline ECB/2011/23 datasets are reported by countries to Eurostat with the following timeliness:

The BOP regulation defines the timeliness and sets the deadlines for the data transmission to Eurostat as follows:

-      Monthly BOP: 44 days after the end of the reference period;

-      Quarterly BOP, quarterly IIP and quarterly revaluations: 82/85 days after the end of the reference period;

-      ITS: 9 months after the end of the reference period;

-      FDI: 9 months after the end of the reference period (21 months for the activity breakdown).

Germany:

Overall, the data source for compiling the monthly b.o.p. are timely. In a few cases, where data are only available with a certain time lag, preliminary estimates are made.

For instance, monthly travel data from the household survey are available from a private institute, which conducts the survey on an ongoing basis. Data are available four times a year with a timeliness of five to six months after the end of the reference quarter. Thus for the latest six months, data on travel debits are obtained from estimation procedures.

Deadlines for respondents are mandated by the Foreign Trade and Payments Regulation and orders and notices of the Bundesbank. The deadlines are clearly identified in the reporting forms, as well as in the Bundesbank Special Statistical Publications.

For most i.i.p. items, the basic data are available in a timely enough fashion to allow for the bottom-up approach used to compile the quarterly i.i.p.

The reporting deadline for respondents is six months after the balance sheet date.

The first results for the CDIS that are published after 9 months stem from last known equity capital (FDI stock data) of the previous year plus accumulated flows from the following year from balance of payments statistics and monthly stock statistics on the external assets and liabilities of domestic enterprises.

CDIS data compiled from the annual survey of FDI stocks are provided by the Bundesbank 21 months after year-end (preliminary data), and 33 months after year-end for final data.

Respondent timeliness is monitored on an ongoing basis.

In accordance with structured follow-up procedures, late reporting is pursued in the same way as nonreporting or inaccurate reporting.

• BOP, FDI flows: T+6 weeks
• IIP :T+3 months
• FDI stocks: T+16 months

• BOP, FDI flows: T+48 months
•  IIP: T+48 months
• FDI stock: T+28 months

All data sets for BOP and IIP were delivered on schedule. Data sets for ITS, Income and FDI were sent up to 3 days in advance.

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report 3.1 Punctuality.

Punctuality is calculated as the actual date of data delivery minus the scheduled date of transmission to Eurostat. It shows how many calendar days this was behind (positive value) or ahead of (negative value) the legal deadline.

Coherence refers to the adequacy of the data to be reliably combined in different ways and for various uses.

In the Eurostat Quality Report, the analysis of coherence focuses on two aspects: internal consistency, that examines to which extent data are coherent within the dataset, and external consistency, that examines to which extent data are coherent with others statistics (e.g., NA) obtained by different sources or within different statistical frameworks.

Comparability refers to the measurement of the impact of differences in applied statistical concepts and methodologies, measurement tools and procedures applied, when statistics are compared between geographical areas, sectoral domains (e.g., with QSA, ITGS data) or over time. 

This indicator refers to Chapter 5.3.1 and the corresponding tables of the Eurostat Quality Report: Asymmetries with regard to main ITS and FDI items.

Further information and country-specific feedback is provided below. 

Germany:

Regarding Services and FDI stocks, Germany is constantly carrying out bilateral reconciliation exercises with changing partners, e.g. jointly with USA and NL (FDI stocks) and with AT (FDI Income, services), an upcoming exercise with France is planned. Furthermore, we take part in asymmetry workshops sponsored by international organisations (OECD, Eurostat, IMF) and participate actively in the FDI network and ECBs Asymmetry Resolution Meeting (ARM) as well as the Asymmetry Resolution Mechanism for Services (ARM-ITSS). Germany has been in an ongoing process to exchange data with the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) in order to identify methodological differences to reduce asymmetries in FDI stocks. For the time being, that process with Russia has been stopped due to the Russian war on Ukraine. Until Brexit, such a bilateral exchange was also conducted with the Office for National Statistics of UK . The exchange ended due to confidentiality constraints after Brexit.

This section refers to the current Eurostat Quality Report 5.3.1. Bilateral Intra-EU asymmetries are presented in Annex 3 to the Eurostat Quality report.

Asymmetries are the result of differences in measurement, in the procedures applied and in the interpretation of statistical concepts. Thus, asymmetries can be regarded as a measure of comparability.

National compilers are encouraged to perform regular checks of their FDI transactions and positions through the FDI network and possibly conduct bilateral exercises to reduce asymmetries in services.

Temporal consistency

Consistent time series are made available to the users as far backwards as possible, partly dating back to 1971. Breaks in the time series have occurred, in some instances, when changes in source data, methodology, or statistical techniques could not be reconstructed backwards owing to the lack of data. This is the case, for example, for a number of detailed breakdowns that were implemented to update i.i.p. to BPM6 methodology from 1999 onwards.

Adjustments or estimates to maintain consistent time series and/or causes of any major breaks in the series are explained in methodological essays in the Bundesbank's Monthly Report and the methodological notes of the Statistical Series: Balance of Payments statistics.

Footnotes explain the changes in the time-series.

While the CDIS Database contains data starting in 2009, consistent time series for annual direct investment positions are available back to 1976. Breaks in the time series have occurred in some instances when changes in source data (e.g. thresholds, accounting rules), methodology, country and economic sector breakdowns, or statistical techniques could not be reconstructed backwards owing to the lack of data or resources.

Reasons for major breaks in the series are explained in the methodological notes of the Statistical Series Direct investment statistics (available on the Bundesbank's Website):

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/direct-investments/direct-investme
nts-and-foreign-affiliates-statistics-fats--865114

Methodological guidelines for compiling BoP, ITS and FDI statistics are defined by the Balance of Payments manual of the IMF (6th edition) and further specified by Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services of the United Nations and the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investments (4th edition).

Methodological guidelines for compiling BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS statistics are defined by the BPM6, the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services of the United Nations, and the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investments (BD4). 

Germany's b.o.p. statistics are generally consistent with the overall conceptual framework of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual, sixth edition (BPM6). This revised standard is also binding for the EU member states by virtue of a Commission regulation and by an ECB guideline that specifies the reporting requirements for Eurosystem national central banks vis-à-vis the European Central Bank (ECB).

Current, capital and financial accounts of the b.o.p. are defined in accordance with BPM6 guidelines.

The double-entry system followed in the German b.o.p. statement ensures that net lending/net borrowing recorded as the balance of the current and capital account in principle is equal to the net lending/net borrowing as recorded in the financial account balance. The net residual is embedded in the errors and omissions item and equals the financial account balance minus the balance on the current and capital account.

Within the current account, goods and services components and primary and secondary income components are clearly distinguished. Transactions in the current and capital account are recorded and presented on a gross basis; for receipts and expenditure separately. In the financial account, transactions in assets and liabilities are recorded separately.

Foreign direct investment is presented on a gross assets and liabilities basis. Data on a directional basis (i.e., inward and outward direct investment) are provided in supplementary tables.

 The concept of residency applied in the German b.o.p. follows the international standards. Resident institutional units are defined in conformity with BPM6 as those that have a center of predominant economic interest in Germany.

 International or supranational organizations that are located in Germany, such as the ECB, are not considered residents of the German economy, whereas their employees are treated as German residents. General government units (e.g., embassies, military bases) located abroad, including their German staff, are considered as German residents. Conversely, such units belonging to foreign governments and located in Germany are treated as nonresidents. The residence of enterprises operating in German free trade zones, unincorporated branches and special purpose entities located in Germany are all attributed to the German economy.

Regarding the definition of b.o.p. transactions, the German b.o.p. records both exchanges and unrequited transfers. Most of these transfers are government transfers to and from the EU. Transfers to the EU are largely contributions to the EU budget and are, by definition, classified as secondary income. Transfers from the EU are classified either as secondary income or as capital transfers, consistent with the BPM6 guidelines.

The international investment position (i.i.p.) for Germany is the statistical statement that presents the value and composition of the stock of German financial claims on non-residents and German financial liabilities to non- residents as of the end of the respective period.

The i.i.p. of Germany is compiled by the Deutsche Bundesbank and complies with the guidelines of the IMF's BPM6.

The concept of residency applied in the German i.i.p. follows the recommendations of BPM6.

Geographic coverage: For the purpose of i.i.p. statistics, the economic territory covers the geographical territory administered by the German Federal Government. It includes that part of the continental shelf which is part of the Federal Republic under international agreements. The economic territory also includes free zones, warehouses and territorial exclaves, such as German embassies, consulates and military bases that are located in other countries. It excludes territorial enclaves used by other foreign governments or international organizations that are located in Germany.

I.i.p. data are published with a breakdown by sector (i. e. general government, monetary authorities, MFIs and other sectors, such as other financial and non-financial corporations) and by type of investment (i. e. direct investment, portfolio investment, financial derivatives, other investment and reserve assets).

Data are available on a quarterly basis with a time-lag of 3 months after the end of the reference quarter. Every year in September, an i.i.p. for the preceding year-end is compiled on the basis of more detailed data sources and is published as a press release

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/press/press-releases

As from March 2015, with data for the reporting year 2013, the concepts, coverage, valuation, and classification of data collected in the CDIS are consistent with the sixth edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual and the fourth edition of the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment.

The methodology for Goods and Services is outlined in Chapter 10 of the IMF BPM6. For community statistics, countries are expected to record different values for Goods “national” and “community” concepts, if applicable. 

Germany:

The strict application of the change of ownership principle with regard to goods flows as required by BPM6, entails the recording of transactions of goods under merchanting in the goods account and the recording of value added of manufacturing services in the services account.

Germany:

With the implementation of BPM6, the treatment of insurance and pension services is aligned with the recording of domestic transactions in the national accounts. Similarly, financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) since then are recognized in the German b.o.p, statistics. Also, the differentiated approach to recording transactions involving intellectual property as recommended in BPM6 is implemented in the German b.o.p. statistics.The methodology for Goods and Services is outlined in Chapter 10 of the IMF BPM6.

The methodology for Primary Income is outlined in Chapter 11 of the IMF BPM6.

Germany:

Transactions in securities between affiliates are not included in other capital, but are recorded under portfolio investment. Cross-border construction projects which exist for more than one year are also treated as a separate fictitious unit within the direct investment group and the activities carried out as part of the project are thus classified as direct investment and related primary income. Moreover, the output of services of owner-occupied dwellings is recorded under other investment income beginning with the reporting year 2010.

The methodology for Secondary Income is outlined in Chapter 12 of the IMF BPM6.

Germany:

The definition of the secondary income account is in accordance with the recommendations set out in the BPM6.

The methodology for the Capital Account is outlined in Chapter 13 of the IMF BPM6.

Germany:

In the capital account the distribution of realized capital gains of reinsurance companies is recorded as capital transfers, due to consistency reasons between German national accounts (according to ESA 2010) and b.o.p..

The methodology for Direct Investment is outlined in Chapters 6, 8 and Appendix 6 of the IMF BPM6.

Germany:

Foreign direct investment is generally recorded according to the asset/liability principle. For identifying direct investment, the rule of 10 percent in ownership or in voting power is applied, rather than the recommended criterion of 10 percent in voting power. Still, loans between affiliated enterprises are excluded from FDI other capital, if just one MFI is involved. Apart from this exception, all long-term and short-term loans between affiliates are included. Credit relationships between fellow enterprises which have no direct investment relationship but belong to the same group are recorded separately within direct investment transactions.

The methodology for Portfolio Investment is outlined in Chapters 6, and 8 of the IMF BPM6.

Germany:

With regard to portfolio investment, transaction values are in general reported as lump sum, thus including fees, commissions and accrued interest.

The methodology for Other Investment is outlined in Chapters 6, and 8 of the IMF BPM6.

Germany:

In the category other investment, German bonds are classified as loans in line with money and banking statistics and banks' accounting practice.

The methodology for Financial Derivatives is outlined in Chapters 6, and 8 of the IMF BPM6.

Germany:

Only financial derivatives are recorded net, that is, as the overall balance of transactions in both assets and liabilities. This treatment accords with the treatment in the euro area b.o.p.

Germany:

Some deviations from the internationally accepted methodology are persisting in the German b.o.p. statistics due to practical challenges within the statistical collection framework. Such deviations are kept under review.

For instance, minor classification differences with regard to the international standard still exist for the services component. This is, a part of the construction services is recorded under goods as the exported/imported goods for construction cannot be identified in foreign trade. Regarding financial services, while fees and commissions related to the sale and purchase of securities should be recorded as services, they are partly recorded in the financial account because some entities report them as a lump sum together with the purchase price of the securities. While asset management costs should be recorded as financial services, they are recorded as part of investment income. For travel credits, data sources do not provide a monthly distinction between business and personal travel. No offsetting entries are made in the financial account for income accrued but not paid.

not applicable

These indicators refer to Chapter 6 and the corresponding tables of the Eurostat Quality Report: Coherence.

The comparability between BOP, IIP, FDI, ITS and National accounts is ensured by the application of common concepts and definitions of BPM6 and the 2008 SNA/ESA 2010.

Further information and country-specific feedback is provided below. 

In the case of Germany, accoriding to the Quality Report: Coherence - consistency with the integrity rules are fulfilled:

no comments applicable

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.2.1: BOP/ITGS reconciliation. The corresponding table – to be completed by countries is part of the Quality Report Annex 2 and is included in the Metadata Handler in form of a separate Excel Sheet.  

ITGS cover goods “which add to or subtract from the stock of material resources of a country by entering (imports) or leaving (exports) its economic territory” (United Nations IMTS: Concepts and Definitions 1998, paragraph 14). This basis differs from the change of ownership between residents and nonresidents required for BOP, so adjustments are needed.

Please refer to BPM6 § 10.17 for cases that are included in the BOP definition of general merchandise because there is a change of ownership of goods between a resident and a nonresident.

Please refer to BPM6 § 10.22 for items to be excluded from general merchandise because there is no international transaction because there is no change of ownership of goods between a resident and a nonresident, or because the goods have no value. 

Germany:

Kindly notice that the timestamps given in rows 65 and 66 concerning the prefilled results for 1. “Goods” as published by Eurostat FTS (row  10) and 4. BoP item "G=Goods" in row 62 of the table do not seem to be plausible. The values surveyed in the reconciliation table are subject to considerable revisions. Therefore, a large part of differences between 1. and 4. may result from comparing different data revisions. The values we added reflect the revision status of November 2022. For future reconciliation table exercises, please indicate the timestamps you used.

Other comments:

In row 24 under 3.1.0 is required to fill in the cif/fob-adjustment. Further clarification is needed on the expected information e.g. according to the community concept or rather the national concept. 

In row 25 under 3.1.1. also furhter clarification is needed to fill in the cell. For instance, wether its refers to goods sent abroad after processing or rather all processing flows, meaning goods sent abroad for or returned after processing, inward and outward flows. The description in the food notes is slightly misleading.

There are some formatting issues in the table, figures are crossed out, the number format changes. Please check.

Further clarifications is needed as to the differences between 4. in row 58 and 5. in row 62.

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.2.2: Consistency with National Accounts. The corresponding tables in the Eurostat Quality Report assess the external consistency between the BOP and Rest-of-the-World Account in NA. As the concepts for the BOP and NA accounting frameworks are, in principle, consistent with one another, an assessment of the consistency concludes on how far these two accounting frameworks have been consolidated with each other. 

Germany:

- Goods: data vintages, only differences for recent periods

- Services: data vintages originated mainly in FISIM and insurances for reasons of different data vintages

- Compensation of employees: differences arise due to revision policies and different treatment of employee stock options

- Investment/property income: data vintages stemming from FISIM

- Secondary income: data vintages originated in different data sources, different application of accrual accounting and consistency requirements in the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) framework .

There is continuos work to reduce these differences.

These indicators refer to Chapter 6 and the corresponding tables of the Eurostat Quality Report: Coherence. 

No further comments applicable.

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.1.2 Consistency between quarterly and annual data: The Quality Report Tables monitor the progress made in aligning quarterly and annual data.

For example, ITS and FDI annual data are compared with the sum of the corresponding four quarters for partners Extra EU27 and Rest of the World.

No further comments applicable.

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.1.3 Consistency between quarterly and monthly data: Quarters are compared with the sum of the corresponding three months for partners Extra EU27 and Rest of the World for Goods, Services and Secondary Income and partner Rest of the World for Primary Income. The discrepancy, computed as difference between the sum of the monthly and the quarterly data, is also shown as a share of the quarterly value.

No further comments applicable.

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.1.4 Consistency between BOP and IIP figures. 

No furhter comments applicable.

This indicator refers to Eurostat Quality Report Chapter 6.1.5 Errors and Omissions (E&O). Although the BOP accounts are, in principle, balanced, imbalances result in practice from imperfections in source data and compilation. This imbalance is labelled net errors and omissions. According to BPM6 § 2.25, “a consistent sign indicates a bias in one or more components. A persistent positive value of net errors and omissions suggests that credit entries have been understated or omitted or debit entries have been overstated. In contrast, a volatile pattern may suggest timing problems. However, although net errors and omissions can help point to some problems, it is an incomplete measure because errors and omissions in opposite directions offset each other.”

The size and the sign of the E&O item are analysed in the Eurostat Quality Report Tables.

Germany:

The analysis regarding Errors and Omission show in general similar developments compared to past periods. In relation to CA and IIP the figures continue to be accurate, taking into account the still ongoing extraordinary growth of gross cross-border transactions in financial account items in the aftermath of Brexit.

We appreciate that the quality report provides a variety of indicators to gain further insights of Errors and Omissions. Furthermore, we would like to emphasize among them the importance of relative measures to preserve comparability over time.

Not applicable. 

Source: A Harmonised European Revision Policy for Macroeconomic Statistics; CMFB October 2017. Macroeconomic statistics, such as national accounts, the balance of payments and the international investment position, are produced from a large variety of data sources. These data sources are reconciled using an approach based on an agreed set of international guidelines. The sources used to estimate macroeconomic aggregates are provided with varying degrees of timeliness, taking up to three years or more in the case of structural sources. As users need national and international data as fast as possible, particularly on certain key aggregates like gross domestic product (GDP), data are produced using the sources and related indicators that are more readily available. As more complete data are obtained from these sources in due course and the structural sources are made available, the statistics are updated to incorporate the new information.

Such revisions of macroeconomic statistics are necessary to improve quality, but can be inconvenient for users. To minimise this inconvenience, revisions should ideally be coordinated within one country, across different statistics, and then across countries. International comparability – and the compilation of EU and euro area aggregate statistics – is hampered when different revision policy schemes are applied in different countries. As the schedule of revision of national accounts and balance of payments statistics varies from country to country, this creates inconsistencies among different statistical domains.

The European Statistical System (ESS) and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) try to strike the right balance between incorporating the necessary statistical revisions and maintaining an acceptable degree of consistency across domains and countries. To this end, the two systems have worked together to draw up guidelines for a harmonised revision policy for macroeconomic statistics.

A distinction should be made between 'routine' revisions and 'major' or 'benchmark' revisions. Routine revisions refer to the changes made to the economic data published initially and to its subsequent releases for a particular reference quarter or year. The earlier estimates typically undergo the most significant revision. In routine revisions, the number of past periods being revised (the 'depth' of the revision) is typically relatively limited. Benchmark revision is carried out at much longer time intervals. Its purpose is to incorporate the main new data sources and major changes in international statistical methodology (such as ESA 2010 or BPM6). In benchmark revision, many years are open for revision in order to create the longest possible consistent time series.

The National Statistical Offices and the National Central Banks are not legally bound by this common policy, but voluntarily agree to it and commit to gradually implement it with the aim of delivering more consistent statistics to users. The level of adherence to the guidelines of countries' revision policies will be monitored regularly.

Germany:

When publishing the provisional data for a given reporting month, the corresponding data for the previous month are generally revised (prior-month revision). These revisions contain new foreign trade data from the Federal Statistical Office, late and correction reports from reporting parties on external transactions, and other information subsequently made available. Overall, revisions are made to foreign trade data for each reporting month over a period of eight consecutive months. An additional annual revision takes place in November of the following year. These revised results are integrated into the balance of payments every time new balance of payments data are published. Further revisions are carried out in connection with the regular revisions to the quarterly international investment position (i.i.p.). In the reporting months of January, April, July and October, results from the reconciliation of mirror statistics and on euro banknote issuance for the months in the preceding quarter are also incorporated. In September, currency in circulation for the months in the preceding quarter is also revised. Annual revisions for the previous reporting year and the three preceding years are made in the March Monthly Report. These annual revisions generally incorporate new information stemming from secondary sources and late reports, and provisional estimates are revised or replaced. Methodological changes, including those for earlier periods, also tend to be implemented at this point. Regional shifts in balance of payments data can arise in July’s publication. In addition, new data from secondary sources may be included (these are generally data on travel expenditure from the previous year). In addition to the specified revision dates, unscheduled revisions can also occur. In the event of extensive revisions or the discovery of serious errors, an assessment is made on a case-by-case basis as to whether the analysis of the balance of payments is impaired as a result of the errors and, therefore, whether a correction should be made in the next publication or whether a correction at the next regular revision date will suffice.

Balance of Payments

Data are subject to revision when data for the following month are published. The revisions regularly include new foreign trade data from the Federal Statistics Office (FSO), reporting agents' late and revised reports, as well as other information that becomes available only after the cut-off production date.

Once a year, usually in March, monthly data for the last four years are revised. In general, these annual revisions include new information from secondary data sources, and late reports from respondents.

Provisional estimates are revised or replaced. Revisions arising from changes in methodology, data sources, or statistical techniques are scheduled separately and then announced in advance.

In July, revisions refer to changes in the geographical allocation and partly to new information from secondary data sources (i.e., data on foreign trade and travel expenditures for the previous year). Finally, b.o.p. data for these periods may be revised again when the annual i.i.p. data for the most recent year (and revisions for the preceding three years) are available at end September. In most cases, b.o.p. revisions referring to earlier years are minor at this stage.

Apart from these regular revisions, exceptional revisions may occur (prior to the next regular revision date), resulting from detected reporting or processing errors that would affect the data analysis, or corrections to foreign trade statistics made by the FSO.

More information on the revision policy and on annual b.o.p. revisions may be obtained from the Bundesbank's b.o.p.' website:

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/balance-of-payments/dissemination- practice-and-revision-cycle-794520

Any exceptional revisions outside the regular revision cycle are flagged in the monthly press release, the Monthly Report Statistical Series Balance of payments statistics, (all downloadable from the Bundesbank's website).

International Investment Position

When first publishing the provisional i.i.p. figures, the data for the previous quarter are revised. Each March, all quarterly figures for the four preceding years are revised in line with the b.o.p. revision cycle.

In September, i.i.p. data are again revised for at least two years back due to the availability of the annual FDI survey. (In exceptional cases, data for earlier periods may also be revised). In this context, further revisions to the b.o.p. data may become necessary.

Complementary comments

The main data source for compiling the direct investment positions is balance sheet data on foreign and domestic direct investment enterprises from the Deutsche Bundesbank’s annual foreign direct investment stock statistics. However, since the results of this annual survey are available only with a time-lag of 16 months after the end of the reporting date, preliminary FDI positions, i.e. the first results after 9 months of the reference period, have to be compiled from last knowns equity capital (FDI stock data) of the previous year plus accumulated flows from the following year stemming from balance of payments statistics as well as monthly stock statistics on the external assets and liabilities of domestic enterprises, which distinguishes loans between affiliated and non-affiliated enterprises, in the case of other capital. Loans between affiliated enterprises are further to be distinguished by nature of the capital link (Fellow, Direct Investment Enterprises, Direct Investor). This distinction is reported since reporting year 2013 to the CDIS.

Further information on the revision policy

https://www.bundesbank.de/en/statistics/external-sector/international-investment-position-and-external-debt/international-investment-position-776554

Germany:

At the time of the first publication of monthly data, users are informed of its preliminary status. Similarly, at the time of data dissemination, users are informed whenever data are revised. In the monthly press release, revised data are marked with an "r." The "r" mark is assigned to the reporting period in which the revisions occur.

In the Statistical Series Balance of payments statistics, the introductory notes confirm that, as a matter of principle, the most recent figures are always regarded as provisional. In the Monthly Report, preliminary figures of the respective reporting month are marked with a "p." Any data revisions to reference periods proceeding the latest reference period are indicated with an "r."

Documentation of methodological revisions and other large scale-revisions is provided to data users at the time of the annual major revision cycle conducted in March each year. Details on the causes of revisions and the size of these revisions are included in the documentation, posted on the Bundesbank’s website.

Methodological revisions and adjustments of the data are also described in the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report and on the Bundesbank’s website. In March, a table showing revisions for the main b.o.p. aggregates is also published on the Bundesbank’s website together with commentary on the reasons for these regular revisions.

Similarly, the publications of the quarterly and annual data on the Bundesbank´s i.i.p. website state that data for the most recent quarter are marked with a "p" - provisional (preliminary). Data are subject to revision when data for the following quarter are published.

Therefore, any data revisions to reference periods preceding the latest reference period are indicated with an "r."

First results of the preliminary FDI positions stemming from last known equity capital (FDI stock data) of the previous year plus accumulated flows of Balance of Payments statistics follow must in all cases be regarded as provisional (reported after 9 months after the year-end). The figures published 16 months after the reference period (on the basis of reported stocks) are still to be considered as provisional; data at t+283 months is final data. CDIS data compiled from the annual survey of FDI stocks are provided by the Bundesbank 21 months after year-end (preliminary data), and 33 months after year-end for final data.

Please refer for further information to 2.1.1 Quantitative Assessment of Revisions in Quality Report of Germany

This quality concept refers to whether the composition of data sources (surveys, ITRS (International Transactions Reporting System), administrative data, ITGS, monetary and financial statistics, etc.), in principle, sufficiently covers the compilation of BOP, IIP, FDI and ITS. 

Germany:

General remarks:

The German data collection system can be classified as a Direct Reporting System. Primarily, the compilation of Germany's b.o.p. is based on direct reporting by resident financial and non-financial enterprises, individuals and public authorities. The resident transactor is obliged to report on all transactions with non-residents. The term "transaction" is defined according to the BPM6.

In addition to the mainly monthly information through the direct reporting system, data are complemented by other principal sources: (1) monthly foreign trade statistics compiled by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) for merchandise data; (2) monthly reports to the Deutsche Bundesbank on the external positions of banks and non-banks for deriving short-term items of the other investment account; (3) Deutsche Bundesbank accounts for the reserve assets; (4) survey data on travelers for the travel item debit side; (5) annual balance sheet data of direct investment enterprises for direct investment stock data and the corresponding reinvested earnings; (6) a monthly custodian survey on securities holdings for portfolio investment and subsequently derived income and transactions data (7) administrative data and (8) partner country data (BIS statistics, CPIS, bilateral data exchange).

Banks, in addition to their reporting obligations as resident economic agents, report to the Bundesbank on a monthly basis:

Receipts and expenditure related to travel, including transactions in foreign exchange, travelers' checks, and credit and debit card transactions (without an exemption threshold);

Interest and dividends paid to nonresidents on domestic securities, or received from foreign depositories, reported monthly (without an exemption threshold);

Interest on their own account (except interest on securities) on current and savings accounts and other deposits; and

Securities and financial derivatives transactions with nonresidents for their own account and on behalf of customers, including redemption of securities on a monthly basis.

Banks' short-term cross-border financial transactions as well as their long-term loans transactions are derived from their monthly reports on external assets and liabilities, eliminating effects of exchange rate changes and statistical breaks. Banks are required to report their foreign asset and liability positions on a monthly basis without applying any threshold. Regarding banks' reporting of securities transactions on their own account and on behalf of their customers, the sectoral split for transactions in portfolio investment assets is derived from the national securities holding statistics. Transactions of the nonfinancial corporations, households and NPISHs are provided by the securities holdings statistics (see no. (6) above, with the remainder assumed to account for the "other financial corporations").

Source data collection programs

General remarks: Germany's i.i.p. is compiled mainly on the basis of several stock statistics. The main data sources are:

• the monthly stock statistics on the external (assets and) liabilities of
• deposit taking corporations (part of banking statistics),
• enterprises and general government;
• the monthly stock statistics of investment funds;
• the annual statistics on direct investment positions;
• the monthly securities holdings statistics (SHS) of securities deposited with German banks; the ECB' monthly SHS-database (for Third Party Holdings);
• the quarterly insurance statistics;
• the monthly securities issuances statistics of domestic securities;
• the monthly data from the Bundesbank accounting and other in-house source;
• the modified accumulation of b.o.p. transactions in cases where no source data stocks are available
• secondary / supplemental data sources (such as BIS data, custodian statistics)

These sources allow for a sectoral classification between the monetary authority, other MFIs, general government and other sectors, such as other financial and non-financial corporations.

As of December 2010 Germany compiles stock data for financial derivatives.

The main data source for compiling the direct investment positions is balance sheet data on foreign and domestic direct investment enterprises from the Deutsche Bundesbank's annual foreign direct investment stock statistics. However, since the results of this annual survey are available only with a time-lag of 16 months after the end of the reporting date, preliminary FDI positions, i.e. the first results after 9 months of the reference period, have to be compiled from:

a) last known equity capital (FDI stock data) of the previous year plus accumulated flows from the following year stemming from balance of payments statistics;

b) monthly stock statistics on the external assets and liabilities of domestic enterprises, which distinguishes loans between affiliated and non-affiliated enterprises, in the case of other capital. Loans between affiliated enterprises are further to be distinguished by nature of the capital link (Fellow, Direct Investment Enterprises, Direct Investor).

The source data for the Deutsche Bundesbank's annual foreign direct investment stock statistics are, onthe outward side, reports that are required to be submitted by German enterprises and households which, on the reporting date, have direct (primary) holdings of 10 % or more in an enterprise, branch offices or permanent establishments abroad. Indirect (secondary) holdings have to be submitted if the primary and secondary (via dependent affiliates) share in an enterprise abroad is totalling more than 50 % of the capital shares or voting rights.

On the inward side, reports are required to be submitted by every German enterprise in which a non-resident (or several economically linked non-residents) holds 10 % or more of the shares or voting rights in the German enterprise on the balance sheet date. Reports are also required of non-residents' branch offices or permanent establishments in Germany. Indirect participating interests are to be reported if non-residents have a holding of more than 50 % in a domestic enterprise – such enterprises are deemed to be "dependent enterprises" – and if these dependent enterprises themselves have direct or indirect holdings totalling more than 50 % of the shares or voting rights in other domestic enterprises.

Please refer to Table Data-Sources Detail.

Monthly

The following sub-categories refer to the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS 2010) data collection. The EBOPS 2010 classification provides a breakdown of the Balance of Payments Trade in Services items (debit and credit) as defined in BPM6, by types of services. The classification thereby meets a number of user requirements, including the provision of more detailed information on Trade in services as required in connection with the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

EBOPS 2010 is a primarily product-based classification of types of services, which in many cases may be described in terms of international classification of products as contained in CPC Ver. 2. However, the classification also includes transaction-based criteria (for example, Travel, Government services, and Construction Services).

Germany:

Goods

The source for data on trade in goods is the foreign trade statistics compiled by the FSO on a monthly basis. The method of data collection differs for trade among EU countries (Intrastat) and trade with non-EU countries (Extrastat). For intra-Community trade, where no customs border exists since 1993, the exporting and importing enterprises are obliged by law to send monthly declarations directly to the FSO. FSO's monthly data on foreign trade data statistics include coverage adjustments for the loss of information associated with the Intrastat threshold reporting and for missing or late reports. Monthly data on value added tax (VAT) declarations are the main basis for these adjustments. Extrastat data are based on customs declarations. Data obtained from foreign trade statistics are adjusted to change imports from a c.i.f. to an f.o.b. basis. For conformity with the concepts of BPM6, further adjustments are made by the Deutsche Bundesbank for cover-age and valuation (e.g., to deduct goods exported and imported for processing). These adjustments are based on addi-tional information available from trade statistics, through the direct reporting system and other sources.

The foreign trade statistics include goods for processing, goods procured in domestic ports by carriers, repairs on goods, and transactions in non-monetary gold. The direct reporting system provides data on repairs on mobile equipment and on other goods, as well as expenditures in foreign ports.

Services

·  Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others: service fees for processing of goods that are owned by the client. The service fee includes any components the service provider has purchased and used for the manufactur-ing. Data are obtained from the direct reporting system.

Transportation: Transportation covers transportation of passengers and transportation of goods with a full geo-graphical and mode of transport breakdown in line with the international requirements.

Information on transportation of goods and passengers is obtained from the regular b.o.p. reporting system (direct re-ports). However, due to the methodological requirements of the b.o.p. manual to valuate imports and exports of goods not in line with the change of ownership principle but use a single point of valuation at the border of the exporting country (so called f.o.b. value), the collected transactions on freight transport related to imports and exports of goods cannot be used as they are. Therefore, the transportation costs are adjusted by multiplying the transported weight with the corresponding freight rates and the distance for each mode of transport and country since 2005.

Additional Sources used for the adjustment

·  International Trade Statistics for mode of transport (Extra-EU), characteristics of goods and weights

·  Traffic Statistics for mode of transport (Intra-EU)

·  Lloyd's List, Toll Statistics, IATA and Traffic Statistic for nationality of transporters

·  Internet research and transporting price index for the freight rates

·  Insurance and pension services: exports are estimated in close collaboration with the FSO on the basis of the produc-tion value of German insurers derived from annual data provided by the insurance supervisory authority and calculated as the difference between premiums and expected claims. Premiums also encompass premium supplements repre-senting income of policyholders from insurance technical reserves and taken into account when calculating the ser-vices component. Reinsurance services are calculated in the same way as non-life insurance services.

Financial services: Financial services cover explicit fees paid or received in connection with financial transactions as well as financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM). FISIM is calculated by the FSO within the framework of the national accounts using a designated model where the deviation of the actual interest rate from the respective reference rate (which does not include a service fee) serves as the price component and is multiplied by the deposit or credit volume as the volume component. Fees related to the purchase or sale of securities are partly included in portfolio investment, because they are reported as a lump sum together with the purchase price of the securities. Some entities report fees related to the purchase or sale of securities separately. These figures are used as a basis for estimations to separate fees and commissions from the transaction value.

·  Charges for the use of intellectual property: all transactions entailing the right to reproduce or commercially distribute intellectual property are shown in this service category. This includes license fees allowing the use of the outcomes of research or commercial property rights, e.g. for trademarks. Fees for the use of software and audio-visual media are recorded under "computer services" and "personal, cultural, and recreational services" respectively. Data are collected from direct monthly reports.

·  Maintenance and repair services: Data are collected from direct monthly reports.

·  Construction: These services include those transactions that are related to construction sites that exist for less than one year. Construction for longer-term projects is recorded as direct investment. Data for construction services are collected from direct monthly reports. The distinction between direct investment and construction services is made only since mid-2013 in the data collection framework. Therefore, for earlier reporting periods it is assumed that cross-border construction has occurred predominantly for longer-term projects and has therefore been recorded as direct investments.

·  Telecommunications, computer, and information services: Data are collected from the monthly direct reports as well as freely available internet data.

·   Other business services: A further services item is identified, to record transactions in product or business related services such as research and development services, translation services, facility management and similar services.

·   Personal, cultural, and recreational services: This item covers mainly the distribution rights for sport events, rights for organizing sport events, concerts or other cultural events. Audiovisual and related services are also included for which monthly direct reports as well as freely available internet data is used. Other personal, cultural, and recreational services are mostly included under the travel item.

·   Government services, n.i.e.: Transfers of funds to German embassies abroad, reported by the Department for Foreign Affairs, are used as a proxy for their purchases from nonresidents. Salaries paid to local staff are deducted and classified under compensation of employees.

Primary income:

Compensation of employees: Compensation of employees consists of the gross income before taxes and other deductions, mainly of border workers, commuters and seasonal workers. For commuters, data are ei-ther derived from partner-country data or calculated with a model based on information from the FSO com-prising the number of employees, their salaries and social security contributions. The data also include in-come of resident employees of foreign military agencies, embassies and international organizations.

Direct investment: For distributed earnings and interest on loans between affiliated enterprises, the basic source of information is collected by direct reporting. Reinvested earnings of direct affiliates are calculated as the re-sidual of current operating profits of direct investment enterprises and dividends distributed. Reinvested earn-ings of indirect affiliates are calculated based on balance sheet changes in profit/loss carried forward since divi-dends distributed between indirect affiliates are generally not available. Current operating profits are approx-imated using balance sheet information on total and extraordinary earnings of direct investment enterprises which are available with a time lag of 16 to 24 months. Direct investment, including reinvested earnings, is at-tributed to the year in which the earnings arose. Interest on other capital is recorded on an accrual basis. Divi-dends are recorded when paid.

Portfolio investment: Estimations of accrued interest for debt securities received by resident investors is com-piled on a security-by-security basis using the ECB's Centralized Securities Database as from reference year 2013 onwards.

Other investment: Estimates of interest income on an accruals basis are based on aggregated stocks and corre-sponding yields. The data include income on insurance technical reserves.

Secondary income and capital transfers: In both cases special administrative information is available.

Secondary income

General government: The bulk of the government transfers received and paid are transfers to and from the EU. Most of the payments to the EU are contributions to the EU budget and are, according to specific recommendations of the Euro-pean working groups, classified as secondary income. Payments received from the EU are classified either as secondary income or as capital transfers depending on their nature. o Other sectors: Data cover insurance premiums and claims (without life insurance). On the debit side, personal transfers include predominantly data on workers' remittances which are based primarily on voluntary reports of selected banks. They are supplemented with estimates on the basis of statistics from the Federal Employment Agency on the number of employed and unemployed foreign nationals who are sub-ject to social security contributions. Using this information, annual transfers by foreign workers to their countries of origin can be estimated on an annual basis and are allocated pro rata temporis.

Capital account

· Non-produced non-financial assets: Data include purchases and sales of non-produced non-financial assets such as trademarks or emission permits.

Capital transfers

General government: Capital transfers received from the EU are recorded consistently with the meth-odology set out in the BPM6. Capital transfers related to development aid are for 70% classified as capital transfers and for 30% as current transfers, based on annual reports of the KfW group. Debt for-giveness by the government (and by the private sector) is recorded in line with the methodology of BPM6.

Other sectors: debt forgiveness, inheritances, legacies, and donations are recorded.

Financial account

Direct investment: Direct investment transactions for equity capital are obtained through the direct reporting sys-tem. Direct investment transactions are presented according to the asset/liability principle. Data according to the extended directional principle are available from supplementary tables. Short-term inter-company loans are derived from monthly stock statistics on assets and liabilities of affiliated companies since 1996. Included in equity abroad are exploration expenses for crude oil and natural gas.

Portfolio investment: Data on portfolio investment are obtained through the direct reporting system and, from March 2002 onwards, for  the asset side derived transactions from the German securities holding statistics are used . In principle, banks report portfolio investment transactions for their own account and on behalf of their customers.

Data from German custodians are used to cross-check the results regularly. From 1999 onwards, securities sold for cash collateral, to be repurchased on a subsequent agreed date, are classified as loans.

Financial derivatives: Transactions in financial derivatives are obtained through the direct reporting system.

Other investment: Long-term loans and deposits are derived through the direct reporting system with the ex-ception of long-term loans of the banking sector, which are derived from banks' monthly stock statistics. Short-term loans and deposits as well as trade credits are obtained from monthly stock statistics of banks and non-banks on their external assets and liabilities. Quarterly statistics of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on the liabilities of foreign banks vis-à-vis German non- banks are used to complete missing reports of resi-dents on private accounts held abroad.

Reserve assets: Data on reserve assets are derived from the internal accounting of the Deutsche Bundes-bank. From 1999 onwards, the reserves assets are compiled in the framework of the ESCB requirements and include only claims denominated in non-euro currencies on non-euro-area residents.

General remarks: Germany's i.i.p. is compiled mainly on the basis of several stock statistics. The main data sources are:

• the monthly stock statistics on the external (assets and) liabilities of
• deposit taking corporations (part of banking statistics),
• enterprises and general government;
• the monthly stock statistics of investment funds;
• the annual statistics on direct investment positions;
• the monthly securities holdings statistics (SHS) of securities deposited with German banks; the ECB' monthly SHS-database (for Third Party Holdings);
• the quarterly insurance statistics;
• the monthly securities issuances statistics of domestic securities;
• the monthly data from the Bundesbank accounting and other in-house source;
• the modified accumulation of b.o.p. transactions in cases where no source data stocks are available
• secondary / supplemental data sources (such as BIS data, custodian statistics)

These sources allow for a sectoral classification between the monetary authority, other MFIs, general government and other sectors, such as other financial and non-financial corporations.

As of December 2010 Germany compiles stock data for financial derivatives.

The main data source for compiling the direct investment positions is balance sheet data on foreign and domestic direct investment enterprises from the Deutsche Bundesbank's annual foreign direct investment stock statistics. However, since the results of this annual survey are available only with a time-lag of 16 months after the end of the reporting date, preliminary FDI positions, i.e. the first results after 9 months of the reference period, have to be compiled from:

a) last known equity capital (FDI stock data) of the previous year plus accumulated flows from the following year stemming from balance of payments statistics;

b) monthly stock statistics on the external assets and liabilities of domestic enterprises, which distinguishes loans between affiliated and non-affiliated enterprises, in the case of other capital. Loans between affiliated enterprises are further to be distinguished by nature of the capital link (Fellow, Direct Investment Enterprises, Direct Investor).

The source data for the Deutsche Bundesbank's annual foreign direct investment stock statistics are, onthe outward side, reports that are required to be submitted by German enterprises and households which, on the reporting date, have direct (primary) holdings of 10 % or more in an enterprise, branch offices or permanent establishments abroad. Indirect (secondary) holdings have to be submitted if the primary and secondary (via dependent affiliates) share in an enterprise abroad is totalling more than 50 % of the capital shares or voting rights.

On the inward side, reports are required to be submitted by every German enterprise in which a non-resident (or several economically linked non-residents) holds 10 % or more of the shares or voting rights in the German enterprise on the balance sheet date. Reports are also required of non-residents' branch offices or permanent establishments in Germany. Indirect participating interests are to be reported if non-residents have a holding of more than 50 % in a domestic enterprise – such enterprises are deemed to be "dependent enterprises" – and if these dependent enterprises themselves have direct or indirect holdings totalling more than 50 % of the shares or voting rights in other domestic enterprises.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.
Transport
Travel
Construction
Insurance and pension services
Financial services
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e.
Telecommunications, computer, and information services
Other business services
Personal, cultural, and recreational services
Government goods and services n.i.e.

No

Germany:

External sector reporting data are assessed by the Balance of Payments Statistics, International Investment Position Division in the Central Office (for large reporting subjects) and by the Service Center for External Statistics (for small and medium-sized reporting subjects). Several validation procedures and plausibility checks are in place both at the individual data level and at the aggregated level.

Intermediate profiles for individual respondents, economic codes, economic regions, and more aggregated b.o.p. time series are checked regularly. Exceptional developments or deviations over time and in the current period compared to previous periods are further investigated and checked with respondents.

The international press, industry journals, and research papers are regularly monitored to detect possible reporting gaps or general deficiencies of the reporting system. The financial press is also monitored to detect in particular large-scale FDI, portfolio investment and other transactions.

Regarding aggregated b.o.p. time series, checks with other statistics are carried out to assure plausibility and to evaluate possible gaps of the reporting system. Some of these independent sources are available with a lag and may therefore lead to revisions to the b.o.p. at a later stage. The main checks are as follows:

• Financial account transactions of banks are monthly verified with money and banking statistics data.
• Direct investment: annual balance sheet data of direct investment enterprises in Germany and abroad are used for cross-checking purposes. The Bundesbank actively participates in the ECB and Eurostat's FDI Network initiative aiming at reducing bilateral asymmetries in foreign direct investment transactions between EU countries.
• Portfolio investment: Portfolio investment data are verified with monthly figures from securities holdings statistics and are also reconciled security-by-security with figures on securities' issues and redemptions.
• Other investment: The Bundesbank compares its data with counterpart data compiled by international organizations. BIS data are used as "counterpart" information to identify assets held by German residents with foreign banks (i.e., holdings abroad that were not reported directly by residents).

Assessment of intermediate data

The behaviour of series is routinely assessed against related series. A comparison of the stocks and flows from the i.i.p. and the b.o.p. transactions is performed whenever the i.i.p. is compiled.

Non-transaction based changes are split into changes due to market prices, exchange rates, and other changes. These reconciliation exercises may identify "missing" b.o.p. transactions, triggering further investigations andb.o.p. revisions.

Travel-related transactions are assessed against FSO monthly accommodation statistics and partner country data. For travel debits the results from the household travel survey and the preliminary ARIMA estimates (used before the results of the survey become available) are cross-checked and analyzed with the reports on purchases and sales of foreign banknotes as well as with paymentscards transactions.

Assessment of discrepancies and other problems in statistical outputs

Information about the errors and omissions is disseminated at least twice each month to all responsible staff in the Bundesbank’s Directorate General Statistics well in advance of the publication of the data. First, to inform about the likely magnitude of the monthly errors and omissions item and if it has an unexpected or unusual value. Second, to relate the errors and omissions to selected entries in the financial account. The underlying causes are thoroughly investigated.

Multilateral reconciliation exercises with EU partner countries have also been conducted for specific b.o.p. items (e.g., for travel), which often lead to more visible results.

In some areas, bilateral or multilateral exchange and data comparison are part of the regular compilation process. Intra-EMU and intra-EU asymmetries also continue to be monitored and discussed at the European level, as are bilateral asymmetries of the euro area and the EU with major partner countries.

Period to period changes in the i.i.p. are assessed by splitting them into changes linked to the transactions recorded in the financial account of the b.o.p., to valuation changes (i.e. price changes and exchange rate changes) and to other adjustments. This analysis facilitates plausibility controls and enables to detect reporting errors in b.o.p. transactions or stocks in cases where flows and stocks are not derived from the same data sources.

In the context of these reconciliation exercises for stocks and flows, the non-transaction based changes are split into changes due to market prices, exchange rates, and other changes.

The Bundesbank compares its data with counterpart data compiled by international organizations. BIS data are used as “counterpart” information to identify assets held by German residents with foreign banks (i.e., holdings abroad that were not reported directly by residents); and CPIS data are used to correct the geographical allocation of German portfolio investment liabilities in the i.i.p..

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Germany

Relevant statistical techniques:

• Direct investment: The main data source for compiling the direct investment equity positions is balance sheet data on foreign and domestic direct investment enterprises from the Deutsche Bundesbank's annual direct investment statistics. However, since the results of this annual survey are available only with a time-lag of 15 months after the end of the reporting date, preliminary FDI positions have to be compiled from accumulated flows.
• Stock data on real estate are accumulated from flows, taking into account price changes and exchange rate changes. Owing to gaps in the available price data and the aggregate method which must be used, however, the figures are subject to certain margins of error. Claims arising from the acquisition of real estate abroad are shown as financial assets. Both private and commercial real estate are shown under direct investment.
• Portfolio investment covers long-term debt securities (=original maturity of more than one year), short-term debt securities (original maturity of up to one year), investment fund certificates and equity shares. Portfolio investment assets are, generally, compiled using real stocks from the monthly securities holdings statistics; Foreign portfolio investment holdings of German insurance companies are taken from insurance statistics to comprehensively incorporate holdings in custody abroad. Portfolio investment liabilities are mainly calculated as real stocks from the "residual approach"; i.e. by subtracting residents' holdings of domestic securities from the overall issuances of German securities. An exemption relates to unlisted equites: for the time being they are still derived from the modified accumulation of b.o.p. transactions. The data for the overall issuances of German securities are derived from the Bundesbank's securities statistics. The data for residents' holdings of domestic papers are available from the Bundesbank's securities holdings statistics which also provides the stock data for portfolio investment assets. All data used are based on security-by-security data collection.The data for equity liabilities issued by German MFIs are taken from the Bundesbank's securities holdings statistics.
• The category other investment takes into account information from the monthly stock statistics on the external assets and liabilities of domestic MFIs and of domestic enterprises, and general government. In addition BIS data are used as "counterpart" information to identify assets held with foreign banks which were not reported directly by residents.
• For non-responding units the method of “carry forward unchanged” is used. As there is a reporting obligation in Germany, the number of non-responding enterprises for INWARD and OUTWARD direct investment is negligible.

Other statistical procedures:

The c.i.f/f.o.b. adjustment for imports is estimated using freight costs based on the weight of the freight, the mode of transport, the tariffs, the nationality of transporter and the distance transported.

For travel debits, a household survey was introduced in 2001, which refers to the population of the Federal Republic of Ger-many. The survey is conducted by telephone under random selection conditions and is backed up by a questionnaire sent to the interviewed person. The initial results of the household sample are available five months after the reporting period at the earliest. Therefore, to publish monthly and quarterly results preliminary figures are estimated by using an ARIMA model. To avoid breaks in the series arising from the changeover to the survey-based method for collecting trade debits (in particular likely for non-EU countries), country-specific and region-specific factors were calculated on the basis of the figures for the "link" year 2001 and were applied to earlier years, in some cases dating back to 1971.

On the credit side ARIMA estimates as well as information on bank settlements, debit- and credit cards transactions build the basis for the estimations of the travel item. For cross-checking purposes partner country data and accommodation statistics are used. Concerning travel expenses for commuters and students, data from the German social security system and the statistics of higher education are. Estimates generated through the direct reporting system are adjusted on the basis of FSO accommodation statistics and mirror data from major partner countries

Data on workers' remittances are based primarily on voluntary reports of selected banks. This information is supplemented with estimates on the basis of statistics from the Federal Employment Agency on the number of employed and unemployed foreign nationals subject to social insurance contributions.

For the recording of interest income on an accrual basis, estimations of accrued interest are based on aggregated monthly stocks and corresponding reference interest rates. Monthly stocks are calculated from the latest available i.i.p. and cumulated b.o.p. transactions. After a year, the payment flows calculated in this way for the previous year are adjusted on the basis of the "back-calculation" method using data from interest payments of the current year. The same applies to the following years. For technical reasons, it has not yet been possible to record the offsetting entries in the financial account. The resulting discrepancies are rec-orded under errors and omissions.

Reinvested earnings are calculated as a residual of the current operating profit and dividends distributed. For direct investment in-come, total annual earnings are derived from balance sheet information on assets and liabilities of direct investment enterprises in Germany and abroad (available with a lag of 16 months). Until the balance sheet data become available, the current operating per-formance profits are estimated for the current year and allocated on a prorated basis.

BIS data are used as "counterpart" information to identify and estimate assets of resident nonbanks held with foreign banks (depos-its), which are not reported directly by these nonbanks.

Please refer to 18.6