External sector

The External Position of the Bundesbank

The External Position of the Bundesbank is a monthly stock statistic in form of a balance sheet, which presents the external assets and liabilities of the Bundesbank broken down into financial instruments.

Especially the changes within international reserves are followed by the public as well as by international institutions with great interest. The most important components of the international reserves are published on the National Summary Data Page (NSDP) as part of the SDDS five working days after the reference period. Very strict rules and specifications are applied by the IMF and the ECB concerning the definitions and presentation of the international reserves’ components.

About two weeks after the reference period a very detailed summary on international reserves and other foreign currency assets as well as on predetermined and contingent short-term net drains on foreign currency assets (including liabilities of the general government) is published on the internet in the following format.

Data Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity

This item integrates “International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity” in a common framework which was set up by the IMF and the " Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS)" of the BIS. In addition to traditional balance-sheet information it also covers - if applicable - off-balance-sheet activities. Beyond that, both predetermined or potential net drains on foreign currency assets are also addressed.

This data category is published monthly solely on the Bundesbank Website under tables. The actual release dates are available from the advance release calendar.

The statistics on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity complies conceptually, methodologically and in its presentation with the internationally agreed „Guidelines for a Data Template“ of the IMF ( International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity Guidelines For A Data Template ) and the ECB’s “Statistical treatment of the Eurosystem's international reserves”.

As SDDS-Indicator, the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) contains metadata on the methodological, conceptional and institutional framework of the German Data Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity.