7.6.2024 - Summary of minutes

Place: Bank of Finland

Present: Officials of the Bank of Finland (BoF) and Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA). Industry representatives from Aktia, the Savings Banks Group, OP Financial Group, Nordea and Finance Finland.

1. Opening of the meeting

• The BoF said the extent of the IReF project is stirring up some ripples at the moment.
  • It is expected that the ECB Governing Council will outline the IReF as a whole must not be made too extensive.
• The Joint Bank Reporting Committee (JBRC), a cooperative body of the ECB, supervisors and resolution authorities, has commenced operation. The JBRC will also have a composition that includes industry representatives, and reporters will probably receive invitations through the EBF.

2. Discussion about IReF

• An industry representative finds it would be important to adopt IReF gradually.
  • Another industry representative concurs with this opinion and finds that, due to the large number of data points, it would help to start reporting one part at a time.
  • In addition, the industry representative wishes to be informed of new data requirements well in advance, because it requires a lot of development to get new data flowing from the business function to reporting.
  • As regards parallel reporting, the industry representative hopes this period is as brief as possible because the resulting double work is a burden.
• The BoF recommends that RATI and Luoti reporting are aligned as closely as possible in preparation for the IReF.
  • The BoF says parallel reporting will be in place at the minimum for 6 months. Quality will be monitored at country level by generating time series out of data collections based on old regulations as well as IReF data. When the level in a given country is adequate, parallel reporting can be closed.
  • The BoF says there will be a cross-checking of RATI and Luoti stock data in each reporting period. A cross-checking of interest rate data is also under development.
  • According to the BoF, one of the key problem areas is central bank deposits. Typical challenges also include differences in sector and legal form.
    • Legal form has been recently added to Statistics Finland's classification service. Reporters are strongly advised to adopt the service in their reporting, especially to be able to limit parties accurately in Luoti, and to reduce differences between RATI and Luoti.
  • According to an industry representative, one of the main positive developments due to IReF is getting rid of separate data collections. The possible reduction in the number of ad hoc questions is another advantage.
  • The BoF recommends that the industry begins to prepare for IReF reporting as early as possible once the data requirements have been confirmed. A rather concrete list of the requirements will likely be available next spring.