SAFE News
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- Index number:
- 000014453-2019-0235
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- Dispatch date:
- 2010-03-31
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- Publish organization:
- State Administration of Foreign Exchange
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- Exchange Reference number：
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- Name：
- An Interview with the SAFE on Issues Concerning the Release of Data on Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales on behalf of Clients by Banks and Data on Foreign-related Receipts and Payments of Banks on behalf of Clients
An Interview with the SAFE on Issues Concerning the Release of Data on Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales on behalf of Clients by Banks and Data on Foreign-related Receipts and Payments of Banks on behalf of Clients
Recently, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) released data on foreign exchange settlement and sales on behalf of clients by banks and data on foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients. An official of the SAFE was interviewed on relevant issues.
Q: What is the difference between foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks on behalf of clients and foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks?
A: Foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks on behalf of clients refers to foreign exchange settlement and sales business conducted by designated foreign exchange banks for their clients, which reflects the scale of the foreign exchange settlement and sales by the designated foreign exchange banks for their institutional and individual clients. It excludes data on foreign exchange settlement and sales conducted by designated foreign exchange banks for themselves and data on inter-bank foreign exchange market transactions.
Q: What is the relationship between the balance of foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks on behalf of clients and changes in the foreign exchange reserves during the same period?
A: The balance of foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks on behalf of clients is the balance by the foreign exchange settlement and foreign exchange sales by banks on behalf of their clients, which will be offset by the banks through transactions on the inter-bank foreign exchange market; it is one of the major factors causing changes in the countrys foreign exchange reserves. However, there are other factors, such as foreign exchange settlement and sales by designated foreign exchange banks for themselves and changes in the composite positions of the foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks, which also contribute to changes in the foreign exchange reserves. Thus, the balance of foreign exchange settlement and sales by banks on behalf of clients is not equivalent to the changes in foreign exchange reserves during the same period.
Q: What is the difference between data on foreign exchange settlement and sales on behalf of clients by banks and data on foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients?
A: The data on foreign exchange settlement and sales on behalf of clients by banks are differentiated from the data on foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients in terms of both the scope of the statistical data and the time-point for the statistics. The foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients is a component of the balance of payments statistics, which reflects the condition of fund flows between the domestic non-bank sector and non-residents; the time when clients conduct foreign-related receipts and payments at domestic banks is regarded as the time point for the statistics. The statistics of foreign exchange settlement and sales on behalf of clients by banks do not comply with the principle of transactions between residents and non-residents; any transaction between the RMB and the foreign currencies at domestic bank counters (excluding transactions conducted by designated foreign exchange banks themselves) shall be incorporated into the scope of the statistics, and the time when the conversion between the RMB and the foreign currencies occurs shall be regarded as the time point for the statistics.
Q: How should we understand the relationship between foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients and the balance of payments statistics?
A: The foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients is an integral part of the balance of payments statistics, which reflects the scope of foreign-related receipts and payments between the domestic non-bank sector and non-residents via domestic banks, i.e., the condition of fund flows between the domestic non-bank sector and non-residents. It does not reflect the barter transactions and foreign-related transactions conducted by the banks themselves; the scope of the statistics of foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients is smaller than that of the balance of payments statistics. In addition, the accounting method for statistics on foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients carried out on a cash basis is different from the accrual basis of accounting required by the balance of payments statistics.
