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Suriname’s Monetary and Financial Statistics Improvements

A recent technical assistance report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has highlighted significant improvements in Suriname’s monetary and financial statistics (MFS).

Key Findings

The IMF team reviewed the available source data for other financial corporations (OFCs) to compile the SRF 4SR. The key findings include:

  • All pension funds report complete data using forms introduced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • New reporting forms were introduced for insurance companies during the pandemic.
  • Both sets of forms are reported in Excel with a presentation that includes a summary balance sheet with minimal detail and numerous annexes containing additional breakdowns needed to map to the 4SR.

Recommendations

To further improve MFS, the IMF recommends:

  • Introducing data for insurance companies into the database program to allow for automatic generation of full balance sheets.
  • Introducing data for pension funds into the database program to allow for automatic generation of full balance sheets.
  • Producing and submitting the SRF 4SR on a regular quarterly basis for publication in International Financial Statistics (IFS).

Data Reporting to the IMF

The Central Bank of Suriname has been reporting MFS to the IMF for surveillance purposes and dissemination in recent years. The CBS reports the SRF 1SR for the central bank and 2SR for ODCs on a monthly basis.

Balance Sheet Approach

With full coverage of the financial corporations sector, the CBS could work on a balance sheet approach (BSA) matrix for Suriname. This would summarize exposures of main sectors to one another, facilitating identification and analysis of vulnerabilities arising from imbalances in intersectoral financial positions.

The information contained in the SRFs alone covers about 70 percent of the data required by the BSA matrix. Additional information must be obtained from the International Investment Position (IIP), real sector, and fiscal accounts.

Next Steps

The Central Bank of Suriname aims to regularly report the SRF 4SR to STA for posting on the IMF’s website with quarterly frequency. The MDSD will closely collaborate with the FSD to implement this plan. Additionally, the IFS country notes for Suriname need to be updated to reflect the improvements in MFS compilation.

Contact

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