Statistical Terms Glossary

Products purchased for own use and not for resale or for embodiment in a product for resale; those purchased by households, by government or by business on capital account.

A type of defined benefit plan, whereby the pension benefit is typically based on the last few years’ earnings before retirement.

The final use quadrant (of the “use table” in an input-output system) shows exports, final consumption expenditure and gross capital formation at purchasers’ prices in the columns each classified by products in the rows

Finance companies are institutional units primarily engaged in the extension of credit to non-financial corporations and households.

Refers to response of credit market conditions to "shocks" to the economy that may amplify and spread the effect of the shocks. For example, credit may become harder to obtain for households and firms in an economic downturn, which can make the downturn more severe and prolonged.

The financial account records, by type of financial instrument, the changes in the financial assets and liabilities that compose net lending or borrowing. The classification of assets and liabilities used in the financial account is identical to that used in the balance sheets.

The financial account is the final account in the full sequence of accounts that records transactions between institutional units. The financial account records transactions that involve financial assets and liabilities and that take place between resident institutional units and between resident institutional units and the rest of the world. The left-hand side of the account (table 11.1) records acquisitions of financial assets less disposals, while the right-hand side records incurrence of liabilities less their repayment.

Financial agencies refers to the bodies responsible for the regulation, supervision, and oversight of the financial and payment systems, including markets and institutions, which aim to promote financial stability, market efficiency, and client-asset and consumer protection.

Financial aid to students comprises:
i) Government scholarships and other government grants to students or households. These include, in addition to scholarships and similar grants (fellowships, awards, bursaries, etc.), the following items: the value of special subsidies provided to students, either in cash or in kind, such as free or reduced-price travel on public transport systems; and family allowances or child allowances that are contingent on student status. Any benefits provided to students or households in the form of tax reductions, tax subsidies, or other special tax provisions are not included;
ii) Student loans, which are reported on a gross basis, that is, without subtracting or netting out repayments or interest payments from the borrowers (students or households).

Financial assets are entities over which ownership rights are enforced by institutional units, individually or collectively, and from which economic benefits may be derived by their owners by holding them, or using them over a period of time; they differ from other assets in the SNA in that there is a counterpart liability on the part of another institutional unit (except for monetary gold and Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)).

Financial auxiliaries consist of financial corporations that are principally engaged in activities associated with transactions in financial assets and liabilities or with providing the regulatory context for these transactions but in circumstances that do not involve the auxiliary taking ownership of the financial assets and liabilities being transacted.

Borrowed sums or equity with which the firm's assets are acquired and its operations are funded.

Financial claims and obligations arise out of contractual relationships between pairs of institutional units.

A financial claim:

(a) entitles a creditor to receive a payment, or payments, from a debtor in circumstances specified in a contract between them; or

(b) specifies between the two parties certain rights or obligations, the nature of which requires them to be treated as financial.

Management control (as exercised in planning, performance evaluation, and coordination) of financial activities aimed at achieving desired return on investment. Managers use financial statements (a budget being the primary one), operating ratios, and other financial tools to exercise financial control.

See: Institutional sector

Financial corporations consist of all resident corporations or quasi-corporations principally engaged in financial intermediation or in auxiliary financial activities which are closely related to financial intermediation.

See Buyer credit

Acquisition of financial assets at a faster rate than nonfinancial assets.

Financial derivative intermediaries consist of units that engage primarily in issuing or taking positions in financial derivatives recognized as financial assets

Financial derivatives are financial instruments that are linked to a specific financial instrument or indicator or commodity, and through which specific financial risks can be traded in financial markets in their own right; their value derives from the price of the underlying item (i.e. the reference price) and, unlike debt instruments, no principal amount is advanced to be repaid and no investment income accrues.

Application of innovative techniques in major national and corporate workouts.

Financial enterprises are enterprises that are principally engaged in financial intermediation or in auxiliary financial activities which are closely related to financial intermediation.

Futures of bills, notes, bonds, currency, and commercial paper.

A completed but transferable agreement to make or take delivery of an interest-sensitive security at a specified time at a specified price.

Futures market where only financial instruments are negotiated.

Financial guarantee corporations insure customers against losses to specified financial corporations or against financial loss on specific contracts.
Guarantors must establish financial capability for fulfilling potential obligations, and they must agree— usually for a fee—to insure that investors receive payment on securities or other financial contracts.
In addition, the financial guarantee corporations grouping includes specialized corporations that protect depositors and investors against the failure of individual financial corporations.

Is the European Union’s principal instrument for funding measures such as the permanent withdrawal of vessels, fleet renewal and modernisation, investment in aquaculture, and development of coastal waters, port facilities, processing and marketing.