Banking statistics

Customer classification

If you have questions relating to customer classification, Classification of Economic Activities (WZ 2008) or NACE Rev. 2 please do not hesitate to contact kundensystematik@bundesbank.de.

In this connection please note our frequently asked questions (FAQ).

Subject matter and purpose

The customer classification is made available to institutions subject to reporting requirements which have to classify economic agents by sector for Bundesbank statistics. For this purpose a sectoral breakdown with explanations is published in the Special Statistical Publication 1 which corresponds to the classification used in the “European System of Accounts (ESA 95)”. Special Statistical Publication 1 also contains a classification of the economy by sector and economic activity, the structure of which follows the Federal Statistical Office’s “Classification of Economic Activities (WZ 2008)” which, in turn, is based on the “Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2)”. The customer classification is also used in banking supervision where, pursuant to the Regulation governing large exposures and loans of €1.5 million or more (Grosskredit- und Millionenkreditverordnung), it is to be used when classifying economic activities in order to comply with the reporting requirements pursuant to sections 13 to 13b and section 14 of the Banking Act (Gesetz über das Kreditwesen).

The updated customer classification which has been revised to meet the requirements of WZ 2008 was made available by the Bundesbank to institutions required to report in the July 2008 edition of Special Statistical Publication 1 "Banking statistics guidelines and customer classification". In our current circular 17/2008 (available in German only) we give details of the main implications for the reporting of banking statistics.

The English versions of the new sectoral breakdown and the conversion keys for transition from the old to the new classification are now available, please see category "New customer classification in accordance with the German Classification of Economic Activities (WZ 2008) and NACE Rev. 2".

Company registers

In order to make it easier for reporting institutions to classify large and cross-sector enterprises, updated sectoral information is made available by public limited companies (share capital of €2.5 million or more) and private limited companies (share capital of €5 million or more) at the end of each quarter. The company registers have been revised to meet the requirements of WZ 2008 and can be downloaded from this page.

Documents