Data Revisions of the Flow of Funds Accounts

March 25, 2013
Bank of Japan
Research and Statistics Department

The Bank of Japan releases retroactively revised figures of the Flow of Funds Accounts (hereafter the FFA) every March. The revised figures reflect the updated information on source data, the financial system, and legislations. Today, the Bank has posted retroactively revised fiscal-year and quarterly data from the first quarter of 2001 in the "BOJ Time-Series Data Search."

This revision has put its primary focus on rearranging sector classification in the FFA, following revisions to the classification of government affiliated organizations in the Japanese System of National Accounts (hereafter JSNA). As part of this revision, the accuracy of the estimated data series was also improved for the amount of securities held by overseas sector, as well as for Securities Investment Trusts and Private Nonprofit Institutions Serving Households sector.

The main points are as follows:

i) Reclassification of public and private institutions sectors

Public and private institutions in the FFA are classified using the same criteria as that of the JSNA. Following revisions to the criteria of the JSNA, which were made as part of the Benchmark Revision in 2012, sectors of some public and private institutions in the FFA were also changed.

ii) Securities investment trusts

Data for each item of assets in the Stock Investment Trust sector were improved by replacing source data.

iii) Securities held by overseas sector

Source data for the amount of Treasury Discount Bills held by overseas sector were changed. As a result, the total amount of "treasury discount bills" and "central government securities and FILP bonds" remained unchanged, while the amount of each was changed. In addition, the data series for the holding amount of J-REIT by overseas sector have become available.

iv) Private nonprofit institutions serving households sector

The Private Nonprofit Institutions Serving Households sector comprises of institutions that provide services to households without seeking profits, i.e. legally incorporated educational institutions, social welfare corporations, and religious corporations. The first major data revision of this sector was conducted this time since the current statistical standard was adopted in 1999, using new source data that has become available recently.

As a result of this revision, there were major changes in the following figures: assets and liabilities of the Public Nonfinancial Corporations sector and Government Financial Institutions sector increased due to i); "Outward investment in securities" of the Stock Investment Trusts sector increased due to ii); and "treasury discount bills" of the Overseas sector increased due to iii).

Inquiries

Financial Statistics Group, Economic Statistics Division, Research and Statistics Department

E-mail : post.rsd5@boj.or.jp