Other tasks and activities
3 Banknotes and coins
The ECB and the euro area NCBs are responsible for issuing euro banknotes within the EU and for maintaining confidence in the currency.
3.1 The circulation of banknotes and coins
In 2014 both the number and value of euro banknotes in circulation grew by around 6%. At the end of the year there were 17.5 billion euro banknotes in circulation, with a total value of €1,016.5 billion (see Charts 30 and 31). The production of euro banknotes is shared by the NCBs, which were responsible for the production of 8.3 billion banknotes in 2014.
It is estimated that, in terms of value, around a quarter of the euro banknotes in circulation are held outside the euro area, predominantly in countries neighbouring the euro area. In 2014 net shipments of euro banknotes by financial institutions to regions outside the euro area increased by 146%, or €19 billion. Euro banknotes, mainly high-value denominations, are held outside the euro area as a store of value and for settling transactions on international markets.
In 2014 the total number of euro coins in circulation increased by 4.6%, standing at 110.9 billion. At the end of 2014 the value of coins in circulation stood at €25.0 billion, 3.2% higher than at the end of 2013.
In 2014 the euro area NCBs checked the authenticity and fitness for circulation of some 33.6 billion banknotes, withdrawing around 5.9 billion of them from circulation.
The Eurosystem also continued its efforts to help banknote equipment manufacturers Chart 30
Number and value of euro banknotes in circulation
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
value (in EUR billions; left-hand scale) number (in billions; right-hand scale)
Source: ECB.
Chart 31
Number of euro banknotes in circulation by denomination
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
€500€200
€100€50
€20€10
€5
Source: ECB.
to ensure that their machines meet the ECB’s standards for machinery used by cash handlers to check euro banknotes for authenticity and fitness prior to recirculation.
Around 40% of the total number of euro banknotes that were put back into circulation in 2014 were processed by cash handlers using such machines.
3.2 Counterfeit euro banknotes
In 2014 the Eurosystem withdrew some 838,000 counterfeit euro banknotes from circulation. When compared with the number of genuine euro banknotes in circulation, the proportion of counterfeits remains at a very low level. Long-term developments in the quantity of counterfeits removed from circulation are shown in Chart 32. Counterfeiters tend to target the €20 and €50 banknotes, which in 2014 accounted for 54.5% and 29.5% of total counterfeits respectively. The increase in the total number of counterfeits in the second half of 2014 was mainly driven by a rise in counterfeit €20 banknotes. Further details of the denominational breakdown are shown in Chart 33.
The ECB continues to advise the public to remain alert to the possibility of fraud, to remember the “feel-look-tilt” test, and never to rely on just one security feature.
In addition, training is offered to professional cash handlers on a continuous basis, both in Europe and beyond, and up-to-date information material is made available to support the Eurosystem’s fight against counterfeiting. The ECB also cooperates with Europol, Interpol and the European Commission in pursuit of this goal.
Chart 32
Number of counterfeit euro banknotes recovered from circulation
(thousands)
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Source: ECB.
Chart 33
Breakdown of counterfeit euro banknotes by denomination in 2014
€51.2%
€103.4%
54.5%€20
29.5%€50
€1009.4%
1.3%€200
0.7%€500
Source: ECB.
3.3 The second series of euro banknotes
On 23 September 2014 a new €10 banknote began circulating, the second banknote of the Europa series to be launched. Like the new €5 banknote, which entered circulation in May 2013, the new €10 banknote contains enhanced security features, including a portrait of Europa, a figure from Greek mythology, in the watermark and hologram. In the run-up to the introduction of the new €10 banknote, the ECB and the euro area NCBs conducted a campaign to inform both the public and professional cash handlers about the new banknote and its features. They also took several measures to help the banknote handling machine industry prepare for the introduction of the new banknote.
In December 2014 the Governing Council decided that the new €20 banknote will be introduced on 25 November 2015. The other denominations of the Europa series will be introduced gradually over several years in ascending order.
4 Statistics
The ECB, assisted by the NCBs, develops, collects, compiles and disseminates a wide range of statistics which are important to support the monetary policy of the euro area, the supervisory functions of the ECB, various other tasks of the ESCB and the tasks of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB). These statistics are also used by public authorities, financial market participants, the media and the general public.
In 2014 the ESCB continued to provide regular euro area statistics in a smooth and timely manner. In addition, it devoted considerable efforts to implementing the new international standards in all ECB statistics, improving the accessibility of ESCB data and the availability and quality of granular data, and establishing a new collection framework supporting the ECB’s additional responsibility for banking supervision (see Section 3 of Chapter 1).
4.1 New and enhanced euro area statistics
From October 2014 the ESCB started to produce statistics according to the new international and European statistical standards for national accounts and balance of payments statistics, a process which was coordinated with Eurostat and the European Statistical System (ESS) and which covers a wide range of ESCB and ESS statistics. The implementation of the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010) and the sixth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6) have led to an improved recording of financial and non-financial transactions and balance sheets in an increasingly globalised and interconnected economy.
4.2 Other statistical developments
The ESCB continued its work on enhancing the availability and quality of statistics on the basis of new or substantially improved micro-databases, as these provide more flexibility in meeting user needs and help to minimise the burden for reporting agents.
In February 2014 the ECB adopted a legal act42 defining the preparatory work towards the step-by-step implementation of a long-term framework for the collection of granular credit data, i.e. data about the credit exposures of credit institutions or other loan-providing financial institutions vis-à-vis borrowers, based on harmonised ECB statistical reporting requirements. Work is ongoing on the final requirements and the final timetable for implementation.
In November 2014 the ECB adopted a Regulation on the collection of money market statistics. It defines the reporting by credit institutions of their daily individual transactions relating to various segments of the money market with other MFIs, other non-bank financial institutions and the general government, as well as wholesale
42 Decision ECB/2014/6 of 24 February 2014 on the organisation of preparatory measures for the collection of granular credit data by the European System of Central Banks and the related Recommendation ECB/2014/7.
transactions with non-financial corporations.
Other important micro-datasets continued to support the production of statistics in 2014. The security-by-security information contained in the Centralised Securities Database supported the production of new monthly statistical indicators on debt securities issuance and debt service by EU governments which were released in November 2014. Similarly, the new database on holdings of individual securities by institutional sectors as well as by the largest individual banking groups has been supplied since end-2013 by data collected by the ESCB, and it is expected to play a crucial role in enhancing the coverage and quality of statistics on securities.
In November 2014 the ECB adopted a new Regulation43 on insurance corporations’
statistics, which allows the ECB essentially to re-use for monetary and financial stability purposes the data collected by supervisory authorities using the Solvency II quantitative reporting templates.
In 2014 the ECB continued to provide statistical support to the ESRB. Among other things, it chaired the Contact Group on Data which coordinates this statistical work by bringing together the European Supervisory Authorities as well as representatives of the member countries of the ESRB Steering Committee.
At the international level, the ECB takes an active role as co-chair of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities, which promotes inter-agency coordination and consistency in statistical practices, and as Vice-Chair of the Irving Fisher
Committee on Central Banking Statistics, which contributes to the advancement of central bank statistics worldwide. Furthermore, the ESCB played a prominent role in the launch in November 2014 of the Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus, the third and highest tier of the IMF’s Data Standards Initiatives. Seven of the nine countries in the first cluster of adherents to the Fund’s initiative were EU Member States. This success reflects the continuous efforts of the ESCB Statistics Committee to enhance and broaden the base of European economic and financial statistics.
4.3 Accessibility of statistics – major steps in 2014
In October 2014 the ECB launched a new website called “Our statistics” tailored to facilitate access to and the re-use of core euro area breakdowns and national statistics using visualisations. One of the functions it offers is the possibility to share the visualisations and integrate them into other websites and social media.
Furthermore, in December 2014 a new tablet application called “ECBstatsApp”
was released, providing tablet users44 with easy access to statistics published in the ECB’s Statistical Data Warehouse in different formats, such as tables, charts and maps. The ECB also launched a new web service allowing professional and private users to automatically download large volumes of statistics into their own data systems on a frequent basis.
43 Regulation ECB/2014/50 on statistical reporting requirements for insurance corporations.
44 The app is available for Android tablets and for iPads.