This document provides technical guidelines on how to report BIS banking statistics using the SDMX1-compliant SDMX-EDI (= GESMES/TS) format. Documents on methodological issues relating to the BIS banking data are available on the statistics pages of the BIS website.
In addition to SDMX-EDI, the BIS accepts data reported in all other versions of the SDMX standard, in particular SDMX-ML 2.0 (compact) and SDMX-ML 2.1 (structure-specific) format. Reporting authorities wishing to use an SDMX-ML format for the banking statistics are asked to contact ibfs.locational@bis.org in advance. The general rules described in this document, eg about the reporting of observation and confidentiality attributes, are also applicable to reporting in SDMX-ML.
All information relating to the banking data – eg whether there is a break in series, or whether a specific observation should be considered restricted (ie not for publication) or confidential – is part of the electronic reporting in the agreed standard format. Any information exchanged via telephone or other non-standard means will require manual intervention and slow down the processing.
The guidelines relate to the practical application of the standard for reporting of the banking statistics. They do not replace the detailed SDMX-EDI User Guide but merely provide specific examples and clarifications for the exchange of BIS banking data. The latest releases of the various SDMX User Guides can be found on the SDMX website (www.sdmx.org).
Reporting authorities are encouraged to work towards producing the SDMX-EDI or SDMX-ML files directly out of their statistical systems. The BIS will continue to provide conceptual and technical clarifications in this regard.