Data issues in the context of the recent financial turmoil (27 Aug 2008)

Financial markets, particularly those for credit instruments in the more mature financial centres, have witnessed major turmoil since the summer of 2007. Already a number of suggestions have been made by policy makers and market participants to improve the functioning of the financial system. However, unlike earlier periods of stress or crisis, there have been no major calls for new data or improvements to existing datasets. This does not mean that central banks, individually and collectively, have not faced major challenges in monitoring market developments against the background of evolving pressures and have not struggled to obtain timely and relevant data to assist in formulating their policy response. This note illustrates a number of specific issues that may have arisen in this context.