IMF | STI

Details

Start: 
January 11, 2027

End:
January 15, 2027

Course Number:
ST27.01

Application Deadline

August 14, 2026

International Reserve Statistics (IRS)

Target Audience

Officials responsible for the compilation of external sector statistics (ESS), preferably the compilation of international reserves, especially the international reserves and foreign currency liquidity (IRFCL), and who are familiar with the methodology of the Integrated Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Statistics Manual, seventh edition (BPM7) and the Guide for International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity.

Qualifications

Participants are expected to have a degree in economics or statistics and have at least one year of experience in compiling official reserve assets.

Course Description

This course aims to provide a deep understanding of the concepts, definitions, and compilation techniques for official reserve assets and their application for identifying assets that meet the criteria to be considered reserves. The course consists of a series of lectures and workshops analyzing country cases and is designed to allow peer learning and sharing of experiences. Recognizing the challenges in identifying reserve assets in emerging and complex transactions undertaken by the monetary authorities, the course emphasizes specific transactions, such as transactions on financial derivatives, pledged assets, securities under repo or foreign currency swaps between central banks. The course also covers the definition of net international reserves and reserve-related liabilities.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

• Apply knowledge gained in dealing with complex methodological and compilation issues related to official reserve assets.
• Identify the assets that should be classified as international reserves with the aim of improving the quality of international reserves statistics. 
• Understand and complete the four sections of the reserves data template (IRFCL). 
• Estimate net international reserves according to the standard definition included in the BPM7.
• Check the consistency between the reserves¿ values included in different macroeconomic statistics.
• Describe the analytical uses of the reserves data template (IRFCL).