Statistics on the asset and capital structure as well as the profitability of non-financial corporations

The Bundesbank's Statistical Information System includes a wide range of detailed statistical data and indicators on the asset and capital structure as well as the profitability of Germany's non-financial corporation sector based on separate and consolidated financial statements. It also cooperates with the European Committee of Central Balance Sheet Data Offices (ECCBSO) to provide corresponding data for the European economy.

Corporate financial statement statistics (based on separate financial statements)

The corporate financial statement statistics based on separate financial statements exists for more than 50 years. Since 2004 it is based on the Financial Statements Data Pool which pools balance sheet and profit and loss data on legally independent non-financial German corporations from various sources. These include anonymised data provided by credit institutions and credit insurers as well as data obtained from the Bundesbank's refinancing operations and from public sources. Overall, the financial statements of some 130,000 enterprises are thus available, covering roughly two-thirds of the sales of non-financial corporations in Germany.

The Bundesbank also provides statistical ratios derived from German enterprises' financial statements for comparison between European countries. These results are computed within a harmonised framework developed under the stewardship of the ECCBSO and compiled in the common database known as BACH (Bank for Accounts of Companies Harmonized).

Consolidated financial statement statistics

The data set underlying the consolidated financial statement statistics is formed by the financial statements of some 230 non-financial groups admitted to the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Unlike separate financial statements, these consolidated financial statements are prepared according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and are, as a result of consolidation, adjusted for intra-group transactions as well as capital ties and debt relationships. The consolidated financial statement statistics therefore allow timely analysis of the net assets, financial position and results of operations of large German groups, including their globally active subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis. The time series are published in the Statistical Section of the Monthly Report and in the Statistical Series Consolidated financial statement statistics.

Further analyses of consolidated financial statements are carried out through the ECCBSO's ERICA database (European Records of IFRS Consolidated Accounts) on an annual basis. Overall, analyses on the balance sheet and results of operations of some 1,000 consolidated statements of listed European groups are available every year, broken down by sector of activity and size.