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Data Revisions to the Flow of Funds Accounts

June 29, 2015
Bank of Japan
Research and Statistics Department

The Bank of Japan has retroactively revised data for the Flow of Funds Accounts (FFA) in the "BOJ Time-Series Data Search."  Annual data and quarterly data have been revised from FY2004 and the first quarter of 2005 respectively.

This revision incorporates figures of the international investment position of Japan based on the BPM6 (the new statistical standard for balance of payments and international investment position statistics) and the annually revised figures for the balance of payments related statistics released in 2015.  The FFA is revised once a year to reflect updated information on source data, the financial system, and institutional changes.  The 2015 revision took place in June instead of March in order to fully incorporate the released and revised figures of the above statistics.

This revision also includes methodological changes in the recording of reconciliation between flows and stocks of insurance reserves and pension reserves in the life insurance sector as well as in the recording of outward direct investment flows.

The main points of the revision are as follows:

i) Incorporating figures of the international investment position based on the BPM6

The FFA incorporates figures of the international investment position of Japan based on the BPM6 released in May and June, including the revised figures for "historical data rearranged based on the BPM6" and the annually revised figures for the balance of payments related statistics.

ii) Changing the recording of reconciliation between flows and stocks of insurance reserves and pension reserves in the life insurance sector

Provision and reversal (withdrawal) of insurance and pension policy reserves attributable to revaluation of financial products denominated in foreign currencies due to foreign exchange rate changes held in life insurers' general accounts are recorded as reconciliation between flows and stocks of insurance reserves and pension reserves in the life insurance sector.

iii) Changing the recording of outward direct investment flows

Previously, outward direct investment flows in the following three sectors -- domestically licensed banks, financial institutions for agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and financial institutions for small businesses -- were recorded as difference in stock from the previous period.

The flows of these three sectors are now recorded as figures estimated from the balance of payments statistics and thereby reconciliation between flows and stocks of outward direct investment in these sectors are newly recorded.  As a result of this revision, data accuracy has been improved for the recording of outward direct investment flows of the private nonfinancial corporations sector, whose flows are calculated residually as the total flow of the economy minus the flows of the financial institutions sector.

Inquiries

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

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