ANNUAL REPORT 2008 - Polymer Bank Notes of the World

authenticity and fitness). Enhanced harmonisedcompetitiveness indicators for the euro areacountries based on consumer price indices, GDPdeflators and unit labour costs are now alsopublished regularly within the Eurosystem jointdissemination framework. Their purpose is toprovide comparable measures of price and costcompetitiveness developments in the euro areacountries that are also consistent with changesin the real effective exchange rates of the euro.The ECB continued to improve its Short-Term European Paper (STEP) statistics. Theseshow primary market volumes and yields forshort-term debt securities that have been issuedin the context of programmes which havereceived the STEP label (see also Section 3of Chapter 4). Detailed flow and stock data,including the outstanding amounts of theindividual STEP programmes, are expected tobe published in the first half of 2009.New MFI balance sheet statistics to underpinthe monetary analysis have also been released.For instance, following the improvements inthe availability of financial accounts data, theECB has started publishing sectoral statisticson holdings of M3 instruments by non-financialcorporations, households (including non-profitinstitutions serving households), other financialintermediaries (including investment funds), andinsurance corporations and pension funds. Timeseries are also available from the first quarterof 1999.In September 2008 the Governing Councilapproved the conduct of a Eurosystem survey oneuro area household finance and consumption.This project aims to fill a significant gap in theavailability of data on the financial situationof segments of the household sector, therebysupplementing the macroeconomic statistics (forinstance by providing information on the assetsand liabilities of households throughout the euroarea). A survey on access to finance by small andmedium-sized enterprises is also in preparation.It is planned that this survey will be undertakenin cooperation with the European Commission.The ESCB also continued its work on enhancingthe Centralised Securities Database (CSDB).The CSDB contains benchmark information onindividual securities that are relevant for ESCBstatistical purposes and plays a pivotal role inthe move towards security-by-security reporting.Systems which collect data on an item-by-itembasis have the potential to significantly alleviatethe reporting burden for respondents whileimproving the quality and flexibility of euro areastatistics. The database is already used by severalNCBs to compile national financial statistics, andfurther developments are under way.4.2 OTHER STATISTICAL DEVELOPMENTSThe two framework regulations on the collection,compilation and dissemination of statistics inEurope, issued by the European StatisticalSystem (the ESS, a partnership between Eurostatand the national statistical institutes) and by theESCB respectively, are being updated. Closecooperation between the ESCB and the ESS hasresulted in various mirroring provisions in thetwo draft legal acts, in particular concerning theexchange of confidential statistical informationbetween the ESCB and the ESS. The ECBissued a recommendation for a Councilregulation amending Regulation (EC)No 2533/98 on the collection of statisticalinformation by the ECB in September 2008. 18Since 2007 the ECB and Eurostat haveregularly published quarterly, integrated,non-financial and financial euro area sectoraccounts. In 2008 work began on enhancingthe timeliness, completeness and consistency ofthis comprehensive macroeconomic accountingframework.The dissemination of statistics was improvedthrough the publication of additional tableson euro area statistics and all correspondingnational data on the websites of both theECB and the NCBs. The extensions covered:i) lists of MFIs, ii) MFI interest rate statistics,18 http://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/legal/pdf/c_25120081003en00010005.pdf124 ECBAnnual Report2008