Institutional Units and Sectors 31
corporations, except the central bank, that are con-
trolled by general government units or other public cor-
porations. Examples are commercial banks, “universal”
banks, “all purpose” banks, savings banks, post offi ce
giro institutions,^34 post banks, rural credit banks, agri-
cultural credit banks, export-import banks, and special-
ized banks if they take deposits or issue close substitutes
for deposits.
Other public fi nancial corporations
2.121 Other public fi nancial corporations com-
prise all resident fi nancial corporations, except pub-
lic deposit-taking corporations, controlled by general
government units or other public corporations. Th is
subsector includes units that raise funds in fi nancial
markets other than by deposits and use them to acquire
fi nancial assets. Examples of units in this subsector are
money market funds, nonmoney market investment
funds, insurance corporations, pension funds, and
other fi nancial intermediaries (except insurance cor-
porations and pension funds). In addition, this subsec-
tor includes fi nancial auxiliaries (including supervisory
authorities that are separate institutional units), and
captive fi nancial institutions and money lenders.
Other groupings of public sector units
2.122 When compiling statistics of public corpora-
tions, various groupings—or subsectors of the public
sector—may be desirable for analytical purposes. Th e
four groupings of public corporations as illustrated in
Figure 2.2 will likely form the foundation from which
other groupings can be created. Other possible group-
ings include:
- Th e nonfi nancial public sector—Th e general
government sector plus public nonfi nancial
corporations - Th e general government sector plus the central
bank - Th e central government public sector—Th e cen-
tral government subsector plus public corpora-
tions controlled by the central government.^35
(^34) Giro institutions enable money to be transferred quickly and
cheaply between accounts or between fi nancial institutions.
(^35) GFS for the central government public sector will be compara-
ble to the consolidated fi nancial statements prepared in accor-
dance with accounting standards for the central government in
cases where central government does not control state and local
governments.
2.123 Th e term “sovereign” is oft en used by fi nan-
cial markets and fi scal analysts in the context of fi scal
operations, borrowing, and debt. Unlike groupings of
the public sector described earlier, which are based on
institutional units, “sovereign” is defi ned on a func-
tional basis and may be used in varying ways. To avoid
confusion and, as a service to users, the presentation
of “sovereign statistics” should indicate the institu-
tional coverage of the statistics, and how this relates to
the standard defi nitions of general government and/
or public sector statistics.
Decision Tree for Sector Classifi cation of the Public Sector
2.124 Using the concepts of residence, institutional
unit, control, and market versus nonmarket produc-
ers, the decision tree presented in Figure 2.4 facili-
tates the appropriate delineation of the public sector.
In order to determine which entities belong to the
general government sector and which to the public
corporations subsector, the decision tree should be
followed, using sequential questions:- Is the entity a resident or a nonresident? Data for
nonresident entities are recorded in data for the
rest of the world (see paragraph 2.7).
- Is the entity an institutional unit? If it is resident but
not an institutional unit, it is treated as an integral
part of the institutional unit that controls it. If it sat-
isfi es the criteria to be an institutional unit, move
on to the next decision point (see paragraph 2.22). - Is the institutional unit controlled by gov-
ernment or another public corporation? The
answer to this question will place the institu-
tional unit in the public or private sector (see
Boxes 2.1 and 2.2). - Is the institutional unit a market or nonmarket
producer? Th e answer to this question will place
the institutional unit in the general government
sector or the public corporations subsector (see
paragraphs 2.65–2.75). - If the institutional unit is in the general govern-
ment sector, could any market establishments
that satisfy the criteria to be an institutional unit
be identifi ed within the general government unit?
Such market establishments should be classifi ed
as quasi-corporations in the public corporations
subsector (see paragraphs 2.33–2.34).