Press Release No. 15/59

Press Release: The United States Adheres to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus

February 18, 2015

The United States has completed the requirements for adherence to the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) Plus—the highest tier of the Data Standards Initiatives. The US’ SDDS Plus data are now posted on the Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB: SDDS Plus Adherents).

“As one of the first countries to adhere to the high-standards of this initiative, the United States is firmly committed to promoting economic and financial data transparency," said Nathan Sheets, Under Secretary for International Affairs at the US Department of the Treasury. "Strengthening data quality, transparency, and access to information is key to enhancing the robustness of global financial markets. The SDDS Plus plays a critical role in raising the bar on international best practices, and we urge others to join us in subscribing.”

Louis Marc Ducharme, Director of the IMF’s Statistics Department, welcomed the US’ adherence and noted that “the dissemination of the new data sets under the SDDS Plus will be invaluable in fostering a deeper understanding and assessment of the performance of the US’ financial sector, the cross-border-financial linkages of the US, and the vulnerabilities of the economy to shocks.”

The SDDS Plus builds on the SDDS and its purpose is to assist statistically advanced member countries with regard to the publication of comprehensive, timely, accessible, and reliable economic and financial data in an environment of continuing economic and financial integration.

The Data Standards Initiatives were established in the mid-1990s to enhance countries’ data transparency and to promote the development of sound statistical systems. The need for data standards was highlighted by the financial crises of the mid-1990s and again in the late-2000s, when information deficiencies were seen to play a role. The Data Standards Initiatives also include the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS).

Detailed information on the Data Standards Initiatives can be found on the Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board at www.dsbb.imf.org. For more information on SDDS Plus and its worldwide launch see also the IMF’s press release of 18 November 2014.