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This section provides information on the international investment position (i.i.p.). The euro area i.i.p. is compiled by the ECB on both a quarterly and an annual basis. Recent quarterly data should be regarded as provisional. I.i.p. statistics are revised when figures for the following quarter and/or detailed annual i.i.p. data are published. Earlier statistics are revised periodically or as a result of methodological changes in the compilation of the source data.
Until 2014, statistics relating to the euro area’s balance of payments (b.o.p.), i.i.p. and international reserves template will be compiled in accordance with ECB Guideline ECB/2004/15.
The concepts and definitions used in b.o.p. and i.i.p. statistics are generally in line with the IMF’s Balance of Payments Manual (fifth edition, October 1993), the reference manual for the compilation of balance of payments statistics worldwide. The ECB’s reporting requirements in the field of b.o.p., i.i.p. and international reserves statistics are laid down in Guideline ECB/2004/15, which is addressed to the national central banks of the euro area, as amended by Guideline ECB/2007/3. Additional information on the methodologies and sources used in the euro area’s b.o.p. and i.i.p. statistics can be found in the ECB publication “European Union balance of payments/international investment position statistical methods” [2.91 MB] .
On 9 December 2011 Guideline ECB/2011/23 was adopted by the Governing Council of the ECB. This new legal act lays down new reporting requirements in the field of external statistics (i.e. b.o.p., i.i.p. and international reserves statistics, as well as data on international shipments of euro banknotes), which mainly reflect methodological changes introduced in the sixth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual.
This new edition of the IMF’s manual takes into account important developments that have occurred in the global economy since the fifth edition was released, such as the advent of cross-border production processes, complex international company structures and international labour mobility. The manual was revised in parallel with the introduction of the System of National Accounts 2008 in order to ensure consistency between external and domestic macroeconomic statistics.
The ECB will begin publishing the euro area’s b.o.p., i.i.p. and international reserves statistics in accordance with Guideline ECB/2011/23 (and the new edition of the IMF’s manual) in 2014, with sufficient backdata. In the meantime, national central banks are working with national statistics institutes to adapt national data collection and compilation systems (surveys, legal instruments, IT infrastructure, etc.) in line with the new requirements.
