Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014

30 Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014

Types of public corporations

2.113 Public corporations are classifi ed as nonfi -

nancial or fi nancial corporations, depending on the

nature of their primary activity.

Public nonfi nancial corporations subsector

2.114 All resident nonfi nancial corporations con-

trolled by general government units or other public

corporations are part of the public nonfi nancial cor-

porations subsector. Nonfi nancial corporations are

corporations whose principal activity is the produc-

tion of market goods or nonfi nancial services. Typical

examples of public nonfi nancial corporations are na-

tional airlines, national electricity companies, and na-

tional railways, if those entities charge economically

signifi cant prices. Th is category could also include

public nonprofi t institutions engaging in market pro-

duction (such as hospitals, schools, or colleges) if they

are separate institutional units and charge economi-

cally signifi cant prices. However, entities that receive

fi nancial aid from government but are not controlled

by government are not public corporations, but are

classifi ed as private corporations or NPISHs.

Public fi nancial corporations subsector.

2.115 All resident fi nancial corporations con-

trolled by general government units or other public

corporations are part of the public fi nancial corpo-

rations subsector. Financial corporations are cor-

porations that are principally engaged in providing

fi nancial services, including insurance and pension

fund services, to other institutional units (see para-

graphs 2.53–2.57).

2.116 Th e fi nancial corporations subsector can

further be divided into subsectors according to the

fi nancial corporations’ activity in the market and the

liquidity of its liabilities.^32 However, for GFS purposes,

the public fi nancial corporations subsector can broadly

be grouped into public deposit-taking corporations

(central bank and public deposit-taking corporations

except the central bank) and other public fi nancial

corporations. Relative to other subsectors of the public

sector, public fi nancial corporations may tend to have

relatively large values of fi nancial assets and liabilities

because of their role in fi nancial intermediation. Ac-

(^32) See paragraphs 2.53–2.57, and in the 2008 SNA, paragraphs
4.98–4.116, for a detailed breakdown of these subsectors.
cordingly, separate data for public fi nancial corpora-
tions may be useful in addition to the data consolidated
with other components of the public sector.

Public deposit-taking corporations

2.117 Public deposit-taking corporations are

fi nancial corporations controlled by general govern-

ment units or other public corporations whose prin-

cipal activity is fi nancial intermediation and who have

liabilities in the form of deposits or fi nancial instru-

ments that are close substitutes for deposits. Two

types of public deposit-taking corporations can be

distinguished: the central bank and public deposit-

taking corporations except the central bank.

Th e central bank

2.118 Th e central bank is the national fi nancial in-

stitution that exercises control over key aspects of the

fi nancial system. In general, the following fi nancial

intermediaries are classifi ed in this subsector:

• Th e national central bank, including where it is
  part of a system of central banks^33


• Currency boards or independent currency au-
  thorities that issue national currency that is fully
  backed by foreign exchange reserves


• Central monetary agencies of essentially public
  origin (e.g., agencies managing foreign exchange
  or issuing banknotes and coins) that keep a com-
  plete set of accounts but are not classifi ed as part
  of central government.
  2.119 As long as the central bank is a separate in-
  stitutional unit, it is always part of the fi nancial corpo-
  rations subsector, even if a case can be made that it is
  primarily a nonmarket producer. While a central bank
  may have a high degree of operational independence,
  it is a public corporation. Supervisory authorities that
  are mainly engaged in supervision of fi nancial units
  and are separate institutional units from the central
  bank are included with fi nancial auxiliaries.

Public deposit-taking corporations except the central bank.

2.120 Public deposit-taking corporations except

the central bank consist of all resident depository

(^33) In a currency union, in each member economy the monetary
authority functions may be carried out by a national (resident)
monetary authority (see paragraph 2.21).