Transcript The IAG and the G-20 Data Gaps Initiative

The Inter-Agency Group on Economic
and Financial Statistics (IAG) and the
G-20 Data Gaps Initiative
Alfredo M. Leone
Deputy Director, Statistics Department
Side Event at the
42st session of the United Nations Statistical Commission
New York, February 23, 2011
The views expressed herein are those of the author and should not be
attributed to the IMF, its Executive Board, or its management
Background: Manifestations of the
Recent Global Crisis




Notably severe in terms of lost output and high
unemployment.
Affected all the industrialized, and a large number
of emerging and developing economies
Has a high speed of propagation worldwide
revealing the interconnections across economies
and markets.
Involved systemically important global financial
institutions (G-SIFIs), with operations spreading
across many markets worldwide.
2
Data Dimensions



Highlighted critical importance of relevant
statistics that are timely, consistent, and
comparable across countries.
Revealed additional statistical needs for
proper financial stability analysis:
 Identifying leverage and risk-taking
 Understanding interconnectedness:
 Across sectors within an economy
 Cross borders
 Among G-SIFIs
Identified room for improvement in the
communication of official statistics.
3
International Response:
Brief Chronology (1)
IMF
FSB
IAG: BIS, ECB,
Eurostat, IMF (chair),
OECD, UN, World
Bank
4
International Response: Brief
Chronology (2)


Establishment of the Inter-Agency Group on Economic
and Financial Statistics, IAG (2008)
 BIS, ECB, Eurostat, IMF (Chair), OECD, UN, WB
 Coordinate work to explore data gaps and strengthen data
collection
 Established Principal Global Indicators (PGI) Website:
http://www.principalglobalindicators.org/default.aspx
G-20 request to the IMF and the Financial Stability Board
(FSB) to explore gaps and provide proposals to address them
to the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.



Reports provided in November 2009 and June 2010.
Data gaps identified and work plans and timetables endorsed by the
G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.
Additional report requested by June 2011.
5
International Response: Brief
Chronology (3)


IMFC (IMF Governing Body) welcomed and
endorsed the work of the IMF and FSB to
provide better indicators of systemic risks and
address data gaps (April 2009 and October
2010)
IMF Executive Board approved enhancements to
the IMF Special Data Dissemination Standard:



Seven Financial Soundness Indicators (encouraged)
Quarterly International Investment Position with one
quarter lag (required after 4-year transition period)
External debt on a remaining maturity basis
(encouraged)
6
DATA GAPS
There Exist Conceptual/
Statistical Frameworks
and Ongoing Collection
Build-up of Risk
in the Financial
Sector
# 2 Financial Soundness
Indicators (FSIs)
#5 Credit Default Swaps
#7 Securities
Cross-border
Financial
Linkages
# 10, #11, #12 Coordinated
Portfolio Investment Survey,
International Banking
Statistics, International
Investment Positions
Vulnerability of
Domestic
Economies to
Shocks
#15 Institutional Sector
Accounts
# 17 Government Finance
Statistics
# 18 Public Sector Debt
#19 Real Estate Prices
Improving
#20 Principal Global
Conceptual Statistical
Framework Needs Further
Development
# 3 Tail Risk in the Financial
System
#4 Aggregate Leverage and
Maturity Mismatches;
#6 Structured Products
#8 and # 9 Global Network
Connections and Systemically
Important Global Institutions
# 13 and #14 Financial and
Nonfinancial Corporations’ Cross
Border Exposures
#16 Distributional Information
6
Consultation Process




UNSC Side Events: 2009-2011
IMF/FSB G-20 Senior Officials Conferences:
 July 2009 and March 2011, Washington, D.C., USA
 April 2010, Basel, Switzerland
IMF Statistics Department Seminar at IMF/World
Bank 2010 Annual Meetings: Financial Stability—The
Data Challenge, (video available at: http://wwwimf04pcs.imf.org/external/mmedia/view.aspx?vid=63282
2639001).
IMF staff visits to G-20 economies:
 Meetings with officials at Central Banks, Ministries of
Finance, and National Statistics Institutes (ongoing, to
be completed in March 2011)
8
Emerging Views from the Consultations




Broad agreement on the identified data gaps that
need to be addressed
Recognition that enhancements to existing datasets
could address certain gaps in the near future
Other gaps would take longer and require additional
resources
The inter-agency coordination is very much
welcome. IAG and PGI seen as major steps forward,
but it needs to be intensified, including by:



Reducing reporting burden to countries
Developing common templates to facilitate common sourcing of
data
Improving data sharing across international institutions
9
Concluding Remarks
•
•
•
•
Considerable progress is being made in addressing data
gaps, with individual IAG agencies allocated to lead specific
recommendations.
Already the outcomes of these efforts are yielding results, notably
in credit default swaps, securities, CPIS, IIP, government finance
statistics, public debt, real estate prices, and in the communication
of statistics (the PGI).
Data Dissemination Standards (GDDS and SDDS) have been
strengthened.
But challenges remain ahead:
• Implementation plans and timetables will need to be firmed up
• Development of new data frameworks will need to be
completed
• Resources will need to be identified and allocated to statistical
work
• Coordination and collaboration—not only among IAG agencies,
but also with and within national statistical agencies will need
to be strengthened.
10