International Monetary Fund

IMF Conference

Global Conference on the G-20 Data Gaps Initiative (DGI)

Washington DC, June 25–26, 2013


The Statistics Department of the IMF jointly with the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Secretariat organized a conference of G-20 senior officials on the G-20 Data Gaps Initiative at the IMF Headquarters in Washington D.C., during June 25-26, 2013.

The conference was part of the consultation process leading to the preparation of the next progress report to be delivered to the G-20 Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors in September 2013. The main purpose of the conference was to take stock of the advancements being made, discuss main messages emerging from the G-20 bilateral consultations by the IMF staff, and identify issues requiring further action and priorities going forward. It was attended by senior representatives from G-20 members, as well as The Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland, and eight International Financial Institutions. Mr. Min Zhu, IMF First Deputy Managing Director, delivered a keynote speech and Mr. Louis Marc Ducharme, Director, IMF Statistics Department, and Mr. Vichett Oung, Member of FSB Secretariat delivered the welcoming remarks.

The conference featured presentations and contributions from the international institutions working on the G-20 recommendations to address data gaps highlighted by the global crisis, including the FSB Secretariat, and the members of the Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG)–Bank for International Settlements, European Central Bank, Eurostat, IMF (chair), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations, and World Bank. The conclusions of the conference will inform the preparation of the next progress report. The summary proceedings and related documents are as follows.


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The views expressed in these papers are those of the authors only, and the presence of them, or of links to them, on the IMF website does not imply that the IMF, its Executive Board, or its management endorses or shares the views expressed in the papers.

Global Conference on the G-20 Data Gaps Initiative (DGI)
Tuesday, June 25, 2013

8:30 a.m.

Registration and Coffee

9:00 a.m.

Welcome Remarks:

Mr. Louis Marc Ducharme, Director, Statistics Department, (IMF)
Mr. Vichett Oung (FSB Secretariat)

Keynote Speech

Mr. Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director (IMF)

9:15 a.m.

Session I: Stock-Taking: Four Years of DGI Implementation

Chair: Mr. Vichett Oung (FSB Secretariat)

This session focuses on taking stock on the progress made over the last four years on the DGI implementation, the remaining work ahead, challenges, and action plans.

1. Progress to date on data enhancements> (I): Mr. Alfredo Leone, Deputy Director, Statistics Department (IMF)

2. An overview of progress to date on data enhancements (II): Mr. Paul Van den Bergh, Assistant Head of Statistics and Research Support, Monetary and Economic Department (BIS)

3. Discussant: Mr. Patrick O’Hagan, Director, International Accounts and Statistics Division, Statistics Canada (Canada)

4. Discussant: Mr. Keiichiro Inui, Deputy Director, Ministry of Finance (Japan)

Discussant: Mrs. Yati Kurniati, Director, Macroprudential Policy Department Bank Indonesia (Indonesia)

10:45 a.m.

Coffee Break

11:00 a.m.

Session II: Key Messages Emerging From Recent Bilateral Consultations

Chair: Mr. Alfredo Leone, Deputy Director, Statistics Department, (IMF)

This session discusses the key messages emerging from the recent IMF bilateral, technical, and regional consultations with G-20 economies.

1. Overview of main messages emerging from recent IMF bilateral consultations with G-20 economies: Mr. Robert Heath, Deputy Director, Statistics Department (IMF)

2. Discussant: Mr. Hakan Tokac, Deputy Director General, General Directorate of Public Finance, Undersecretariat of Turkish Treasury (Turkey)

Discussant: Ms. Liz Dixon Smith, Senior Adviser, Bank of England (U.K.)

12:30 p.m.

Lunch

1:30 p.m.

Session III: G-20 Data Gaps Initiative: The Policy Perspective

Chair: Mr. David Marston, Deputy Director, Strategy, Policy and Review Department ( IMF)

This session aims to provide an overview of the DGI, its relevance to policy issues, and its linkages with other G-20 and related initiatives.

1. DGI and its contribution to financial stability analysis: Mr. Robert Heath, Deputy Director, Statistics Department (IMF)

2. The policy use of the DGI and the need to sustain cooperation at the G-20 level concerning statistics: Mr. Werner Bier, Deputy Director General, Directorate General of Statistics (ECB)

3. Global flow of Funds: Mr. Luca Errico, Chief, Financial Institutions Division, Statistics Department (IMF)

4. Discussant: Mr. Christian Pfister, Deputy Director General, Statistics, Banque de France (France )

5. Discussant: Ms. Dimple Bhandia, General Manager, Financial Stability Unit, Reserve Bank of India, (India)

Discussant: Ms. Linda Powell, Chief Business Officer, Data Center, Office of Financial Research, U.S. Treasury (U.S.)

3:00 p.m.

Coffee Break

3:15 p.m.

Session IV (a): From New Conceptual Frameworks to Actual Data Enhancements

Chair: Mr. Christopher Towe, Deputy Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department (IMF)

This session aims to discuss the way forward with the recommendations where development of new conceptual frameworks is ongoing, complete, or nearing completion.

1. Overview of data on G-SIFIs (recommendations #8 and # 9) Mr. Vichett Oung, (FSB Secretariat)

2. Overview of data on cross-border positions of financial and nonfinancial corporations (recommendations #13 and #14) Mr. Paul Van den Bergh, Assistant Head of Statistics and Research Support, Monetary and Economic Department (BIS)

3. Discussant: Mr. Enrique Cuervo Guzmán, Financial Información Analyst, Banco de México (Mexico)

Discussant: Sören Friedrich, Financial Stability Department, Deutsche Bundesbank (Germany)

4:45 p.m.

Session IV (b): From New Conceptual Frameworks to Actual Data Enhancements

Chair: Mr. Robert Heath, Deputy Director, Statistics Department (IMF)

This session continues discussing the way forward with the recommendations where development of new conceptual frameworks is ongoing, complete, or nearing completion.

1. Overview of ongoing work on tail risks (recommendation #3) Ms. Elena Loukoianova, Deputy Chief, Financial Institutions Division, Statistics Department (IMF)

2. Overview on measures of leverage and maturity mismatches (recommendation #4) Mr. Paul Van den Bergh, Assistant Head of Statistics and Research Support, Monetary and Economic Department (BIS) and Mr. Vichett Oung (FSB Secretariat)

3. Overview of work on distributional aspects of income, wealth and consumption (recommendation #16), Mr. Peter Van de Ven, Head, National Accounts Division, Statistics Directorate (OECD)

4. Discussant: Ms. Sosang Moon, Head, Monetary and Financial Statistics Team, Economic Statistics Department, Bank of Korea (Korea)

Discussant: Ms. Silvia Fabiani, Manager, Economic and Financial Statistics Department Banca d‘Italia (Italy)

WEDNESDAY, June 26, 2013

9:00 a.m.

Session V: Moscow Technical Meeting: What Did We Learn?

Chair: Mr. Ivo Havinga (Director, Economic Statistics Branch, Statistics Division UN)

This session focuses on the issues covered at the Moscow Technical Meeting.

1. Main messages from the Technical Meeting in Moscow Mr. Peter Van De Ven, Head, National Accounts Division, Statistics Directorate, (OECD)

2. Government Finance Statistics—What Lies Beneath the Data? Ms. Claudia Dziobek, Chief, Government Finance Division, Statistics Department (IMF)

3. Discussant: Ms. Irina Masakova, Deputy Head, Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)

Discussant: Mrs. Nthabiseng Molemoeng, South African Reserve Bank (South Africa )

10:30 a.m.

Coffee Break

10:45 a.m.

Session VI: Communication and Cooperation

Chair: Mr. Ibrahim Levent (Senior Information Officer, Development Data Group, Development Economics Vice Presidency, World Bank Group)

This session focuses on the communication of official statistics (recommendation #20), and recent initiatives aimed at enhancing cooperation among international institutions.

1. The new enhancements on Principal Global Indicators’ website Mr. Rene Piche, Deputy Chief, Statistical Information Management Division, Statistics Department (IMF)

2. Data exchange among international agencies Mr. Roberto Barcellan, Head of Unit for Price Statistics, Purchasing Power Parities and Housing Statistics (Eurostat)

Discussant: Mr. Emad A. AlQadheeb, Director, General Research and Statistics Department, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency-(Saudi Arabia)

12:15 p.m.

Summary of Main Conclusions: Mr. Alfredo Leone, Deputy Director (IMF); Robert Heath, Deputy Director (IMF); and Mr. Vichett Oung (FSB Secretariat)

1:00 p.m.

Closing Remarks