Structural business statistics: additional sectors, credit institutions and pension funds

The Commission can, in general, accept the common position. It maintains the objective of the Commission's proposal, i.e. to collect additional information on other financial intermediation and financial auxiliaries, environmental expenditure, credit institutions and pensions funds. For both the annex on the credit institutions and the annex on the pension funds, a considerable number of characteristics remain to be compiled on a compulsory basis. They will allow an examination of the main trends in both sectors, such as the concentration in the banking sector, the development of different sources of income of credit institutions, the development of the pension fund sector. The acceptance of the common position means that, out of a list of 71 characteristics for pension funds, three more variables will become optional and six will be included under the subjects for pilot studies. In view of the importance of pension funds, the Commission intends to launch the pilot studies in this area as soon as possible.�