## F.13   Margins on Buying and Selling Transactions

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [F.13   Margins on Buying and Selling Transactions](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/data/statistics/bpm6/fitt/fitt-f13-global-consultation-questionnaire-unsd.pdf)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/-/media/files/data/statistics/bpm6/fitt/fitt-f13-global-consultation-questionnaire-unsd.pdf.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/data/statistics/bpm6/fitt/fitt-f13-global-consultation-questionnaire-unsd.pdf.json)

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### Purpose and respondent instructions
- The questionnaire is part of a global consultation circulated by the Financial and Payments Systems Task Team to gather coordinated input from national agencies responsible for national accounts and balance of payments compilation (for example, National Statistics Office and Central Bank).
- Respondents are asked to provide one coordinated answer; if only one agency provides a coordinated answer, indicate that in Question 2.
- Contact emails for questions: STABPM6Update@imf.org or sna@un.org.
- Respondents complete identifying information in Question 1: Country; Institution/Organization; Name; Position/Title; Email.
- Question 2 asks which area of macroeconomic statistics the response concerns: National Accounts; Balance of Payments; Both National Accounts and Balance of Payments.
- Question 3 asks respondents to classify relevance for their country: High Relevance; Medium Relevance; Low Relevance; Not Relevant.

### Conceptual issues and recommendations from the guidance note (GN)
- The guidance note (GN) aims at addressing the issues in recording margins on buying and selling transactions.
- The GN recommends:
  - Continuing to record the margins as financial services with a clearer explanation of the relevant concepts in the updated BPM6 and the 2008 SNA.
  - Including a recommendation on compilation options and a materiality threshold that allows national agencies not to compile the item, recognizing that this item may not be relevant in some countries while its compilation could be costly.
- Questionnaire items targeting conceptual feedback:
  - Question 4: Do you agree that, currently, margins on buying and selling transactions require a significant level of effort to reach a reliable quality of the estimate? (Yes/No) with space for explanation.
  - Question 5: Which option do you support for the treatments of the margins in the updated manuals and compilation guides? (Option A / Option B) with space for explanation.

### Practical implementation issues solicited from respondents
- The GN identifies specific practical challenges and asks respondents for input:
  - Question 6: Explain how you envision addressing challenges related to estimation, in particular the isolation of margin generating transactions, the complexity of the bid-ask spread, as well as the counterpart allocation of this service.
  - Question 7: If you are currently estimating margins on buying and selling transactions, state the share of this item in the financial services and in your total services accounts.
  - Question 8: If favoring the option not to compile this item (applying the materiality threshold as discussed in Option B), explain the reasons (e.g., compilation challenges and the item’s relevance to your country).
  - Question 9: Identify any other challenges related to the compilation of this item that are not mentioned in the GN.
- Question 10 requests consent for publication of responses to maximize transparency in the SNA and BPM update process: Do you give consent that your response to this questionnaire can be published? (Yes/No).

### Structure of respondent inputs requested
- Identifying information (Q1).
- Area of macroeconomic statistics concerned (Q2).
- Relevance assessment (Q3).
- Detailed open-ended responses on:
  - Effort and quality challenges (Q4).
  - Preferred treatment option in updated manuals (Q5).
  - Practical estimation methods and counterpart allocation (Q6).
  - Quantitative shares in financial services and total services accounts (Q7).
  - Rationale for non-compilation under materiality threshold (Q8).
  - Additional compilation challenges (Q9).
  - Consent to publish responses (Q10).

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/data/statistics/bpm6/fitt/fitt-f13-global-consultation-questionnaire-unsd.pdf_