External sector

External position of banks (MFI's) and enterprises in Germany

In the external position of banks, the external assets and liabilities already recorded in the monthly balance sheet statistics are further broken down by country, currency, sector and maturity. The data serve, first and foremost, banking statistics purposes.

In the external position of enterprises, the external assets and liabilities of the (non-bank) enterprises are recorded – broken down by debtor and creditor country.

The external position of both banks and enterprises provide data for the compilation of the balance of payments and international investment position. The reporting system comprises two separate data compilations as the external position of banks', which is based on the banks’ monthly balance sheet statistics, contains considerably more detailed data.

The external position of banks is complemented by the external position of foreign branches and foreign subsidiaries of German banks. These data do not comply with the definition used for the balance of payments and the international investment position; they are included in the consolidated banking statistics compiled for the purposes of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Publication of the external position of banks (MFIs) and enterprises in Germany

Both sets are compiled monthly. The results are published in Tables II. 1-4 (External position of banks) and II. 6 (Assets and Liabilities of Enterprises in Germany vis-à-vis non-residents) in Statistical Supplement 3 Balance of Payments Statistics. Excerpts from this supplement are available under Tables and are linked to an extensive time series service.

Methodological notes

Methodological notes on the external position of banks can be found in Special Statistical Publication 1 “Banking statistics guidelines and customer classification”.

In respect of the items compiled and their definition and assessment, both compilations take into consideration internationally agreed concepts, such as the fifth (current) edition of the IMF Balance of Payments Manual ( BPM5) the provisions governing the national accounts agreed at UN level (SNA93) as well as the European System of National Accounts (ESA 95), whose provisions are mandatory for European member states.