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This section sets out the euro area monetary aggregates and counterparts. These are derived from the consolidated MFI balance sheet and also take account of some monetary assets/liabilities of central government. It also includes information on additional elements of relevance when using the monetary statistics published by the ECB: the derivation of flows, the index of notional stocks and the contributions to the annual growth rate of M3.
Updates are made available around the end of each month, following the publication of the statistical press release on monetary developments (see link on the right-hand side).
Monetary aggregates comprise monetary liabilities of MFIs and central government (post office, treasury) vis-à-vis non-MFI euro area residents excluding central government.
M1 is the sum of currency in circulation and overnight deposits; M2 is the sum of M1, deposits with an agreed maturity of up to two years and deposits redeemable at notice of up to three months; and M3 is the sum of M2, repurchase agreements, money market fund shares/units and debt securities up to two years.
The ECB calculates the rates of growth of monetary aggregates, as well as of the components and the counterparts to monetary aggregates, on the basis of adjusted flows rather than the simple comparison of end-of-period levels.
Stock data refer to the last day of the period (month or quarter), either to the last working day or the last calendar day, depending on national practice.
The flows for the current period are calculated by adjusting the difference between the stock at the end of the period and the stock at the end of the previous period for effects that do not arise from transactions, such as reclassifications, foreign exchange revaluations and other revaluations.
The index of notional stocks (derived from the flows, and the non-seasonally adjusted series) is currently set as December 2010 = 100.
The growth rate over the n months ending in month t is calculated by dividing the index for month t by the index for month t-n. For example, the annual growth rate for month t is obtained by the ratio of the indeces of months t and t-12.
Reference area. Unless otherwise stated, euro area monetary statistics cover all of the member countries of the euro area at the time to which the statistics relate.
In line with international statistical standards, flow data are calculated by adjusting the difference between end-of-period levels for the effect of non-transaction-related factors, with a view to obtaining a representation of the difference in levels brought about by acquisitions of financial assets or the incurrence of financial liabilities by the money holding sector. These factors may be summarised under the following three headings:
Reclassifications comprise any change in the balance sheet of the Monetary Financial Institutions (MFIs) sector that arises due to changes in the MFI reporting population, corporate restructuring, reclassification of assets and liabilities and the correction of reporting errors. (Whenever the reporting error can be totally removed from the series, no specific reclassification is to be reported.) The occurrence of these factors gives rise to breaks in the series and, hence, affects the comparability of successive end-of-period levels.
Foreign-exchange revaluations comprise any change in the value converted into euro of balance sheet items originally denominated in foreign currency that arises due to changes in the exchange rate of the euro. A change in the exchange rate of the euro affects the euro value of these items, in addition to actual transactions.
Other revaluations comprise any change in the balance sheet of the MFI sector that arises due to changes in the market price of marketable securities held, sold or issued and the (partial) removal from the balance sheet of loans that are subject to write-offs or write-downs. A change in the market value of securities held, sold or issued by MFIs affects the outstanding stock of securities, in addition to actual transactions in these securities. A write-off or write-down of loans has an impact on the reported value of the outstanding amount of loans, but is not related to a change in the amount of MFI financing to the economy. The Methodological notes for the compilation of the revaluation adjustment [1.13 MB] describes in detail the methods used at the national level with respect to other revaluations and related concepts.
For a detailed description regarding the compilation of monetary aggregates and counterparts, see the Manual on MFI balance sheet statistics [2.51 MB] .
