Archive:Financial auxiliaries statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
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- Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). According to the statistical classification of economic activities in the EU (NACE Rev 1.1), the present article covers financial auxiliaries statistics, corresponding to NACE Rev 1.1 Division 67, which is part of the financial and insurance sector.
Activities auxiliary to financial intermediation have a supporting function in capital markets, performing a complementary role to banking and insurance activities. They include the provision of services involved in or closely related to financial intermediation, but not themselves involving financial intermediation. Activities included are:
- the administration of financial markets, securities and mortgage broking, and fund management (NACE Group 67.1);
- activities of insurance brokers and agents (NACE Group 67.2).
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Main statistical findings
Employment
According to the results of the Labour force survey (LFS), employment in the EU-27's financial auxiliaries sector (NACE Division 67) covered 1.2 million persons in 2007. This sector was dominated by the United Kingdom and Germany, with workforces of 420.0 thousand and 248.8 thousand persons employed respectively, accounting for more than one third and more than one fifth of the EU-27's workforce: Italy (12.2 %) was the only other Member State with a double digit share of the EU-27's financial auxiliaries’ employment. Although in the EU-27 as a whole this sector contributed 18.4 % of financial and insurance services (NACE Section J) employment, in most Member States [1]this sector's contribution was less than 15 % and the relatively high EU-27 average was influenced by the dominance of the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy where this sector contributed 32.9 %, 18.9 % and 22.1 % of financial and insurance services employment respectively. The financial auxiliaries sector contributed 2.6 % of the business economy's workforce in Luxembourg and 2.2 % in the United Kingdom, with the next highest share being around half this level.
Focus on exchanges
In recent years, European exchanges have undergone a period of consolidation, most notably with the creation of Euronext (equity exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Paris and a derivatives exchange in London) and OMX (which has exchanges in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Riga, Stockholm, Tallinn, Vilnius and Iceland) and the takeover of the Borsa Italiana by the London stock exchange in 2007. However, this period of consolidation has extended to include trans-Atlantic consolidation, with the completion in 2007 of the New York Stock Exchange's merger with Euronext and Nasdaq's purchase of OMX which was completed in 2008.
According to the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE), the main equity exchanges in the EU in 2007 in terms of capitalisation and trading were London, Euronext, the Deutsche Börse and the Spanish exchanges (BME, which include Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia).
In turnover terms, the Spanish exchanges, London and OMX had the largest bond markets in the EU: together these exchanges accounted for 94 % of bond-trading among the exchanges listed.
Data sources and availability
The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.
Other data sources include the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE).
Context
Financial and intermediation services provide instruments to businesses and households in the form of products that are essentially savings or loans, or products to transfer and pool risk. Changes in financing techniques have increased the possibilities open to business to fund investment, while consumers have a wider array of choices for credit, savings and payment methods. At the time of writing this sector is the focus of worldwide attention due to the financial crisis widely experienced across the globe and the impact that this has had on other parts of the economy. This crisis has led to national governments taking over some financial institutions, and providing massive amounts of financial support to others. The crisis has provoked widespread calls for reforms to regulatory bodies and new ways for overseeing the operations and practices of this sector.
There has been considerable EU legislative activity in the sphere of financial and insurance services centred upon the creation of an internal market for financial and insurance services. This work has been conducted through the Financial services action plan (FSAP), which was published by the European Commission in 1999 and the legislative phase completed in 2006.
The absence of cross-border consolidation within the financial and insurance services sector has drawn attention and in September 2007 a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council was adopted (COM (2007) 44) that would tighten the procedures that Member States' supervisory authorities have to follow when assessing proposed mergers and acquisitions in banking, insurance and securities activities. The directive aims to clarify the criteria against which supervisors should assess possible mergers and acquisitions in order to improve clarity and transparency in supervisory assessment and help to ensure a consistent handling of mergers and acquisitions requests across the EU.
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- European Business: Facts and figures - 2009 edition
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
Other information
- Directive 2007/44 of 5 September 2007 on procedural rules and evaluation criteria for the prudential assessment of acquisitions and increase of holdings in the financial sector
External links
See also
- Exchange rates and interest rates
- Financial credit and leasing sector statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
- Funds and asset management statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
- Insurance and pension funds statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
Notes
- ↑ Portugal, 2006; Bulgaria, Lithuania and Malta, not available.