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The financial crisis has put the spotlight on a new paradox: in our internet age we are constantly bombarded with data, and yet the information that we would need to answer even the simpler questions we might ask about the health of our financial system is not at our fingertips. Either this information does not exist or, if it does, it is not collected in a way that makes it easily available and digestible.
Better statistics will not prevent the next crisis, but will definitely help policymakers and market participants to identify vulnerabilities, monitor financial health and better manage financial strains once they emerge. Above all, they will remove an easy excuse to disown responsibility: “if only I had known…”. The recent financial crisis offers a window of opportunity to address serious gaps in available statistics; that opportunity cannot be missed. Since collecting information is costly, priorities have to be set. Two priorites have to be highlighted: better property price data and comprehensive balance sheets that illuminate banks’ global operations on a consolidated basis. The process for collecting the information should be guided internationally, not least to ensure its consistency and overcome confidentiality restrictions; it should retain the necessary flexibility to respond to changing demands; and it should limit costs, building as far as possible on existing reporting infrastructures. The BIS strongly welcomes these efforts and it stands ready to support them by leveraging its comparative strengths, notably its extensive track record in this core aspect of its mission
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