Poland - Current Account Balance





Poland: Current Account Balance

Mnemonic TAB.IPOL
Unit Mil. USD, NSA
Adjustments Not Seasonally Adjusted
Monthly 5244 %
Data Jan 2024 1,286
Dec 2023 -25

Series Information

Source National Bank of Poland
Release Balance of payments, external debt
Frequency Monthly
Start Date 1/31/2000
End Date 1/31/2024

Poland: Trade

Reference Last Previous Units Frequency
Balance of Goods Jan 2024 1,402 -607 Mil. USD, NSA Monthly
Current Account Balance Jan 2024 1,286 -25 Mil. USD, NSA Monthly
Exports of Goods Jan 2024 28,166 27,697 Mil. USD, NSA Monthly
Imports of Goods Jan 2024 29,568 27,090 Mil. USD, NSA Monthly
Exports of Goods and Services 2023 Q4 491,234 468,540 Mil. PLN, NSA Quarterly
Imports of Goods and Services 2023 Q4 445,328 420,101 Mil. PLN, NSA Quarterly
Net Exports 2022 Q2 13,230 1,276 Mil. PLN, NSA Quarterly
Real Imports of Goods and Services 2022 Q2 330,755 325,547 Mil. Ch. 2015 PLN, NSA Quarterly

Release Information

For Poland, detailed monthly balance of payments. These record economic transactions between residents and non-residents, per IMF "Balance of Payments Manual, 6th edition" and ECB/Eurostat recommendations. The moment of recording a transaction corresponds to a change in ownerships. Monthly from 2000.

Quarterly gross external debt by institutional sector, also per BPM6. The outstanding amount of those actual current, and not contingent, liabilities that require payment(s) of principal and/or interest by the debtor at some point(s) in the future and that are owed to non-residents by residents of an economy.

Balance of payments

Active:

  • Framework: IMF BPM6
  • Measurement: Millions of U.S. dollars (Mil. USD)
  • Adjustment: Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
  • Native frequency: Monthly
  • Start dates:
    • 2000m1 for current account balance
    • 2004m1 for most

Predecessors:

  • BPM5 - 2000m1 to 2014m7 ("_B5")

Gross external debt

  • Framework: IMF BPM6
  • Measurement: Millions of Polish zloty (Mil. PLN)
  • Adjustment: Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
  • Native frequency: Quarterly
  • Start date: Uniformly 2004Q1

The source writes:

Classification/sectorization

Transactions are primarily classified according to the fifth edition of the IMF's "Balance of Payments Manual" (BPM6).

Scope of the data

Balance of payments data cover all transactions with the rest of the world and display the following items:

  1. The current account, showing data for: exports and imports of goods, services debits and credits (transportation, travel, communication, construction, insurance, financial, etc) credits and debits for income (including additional details for direct investment, portfolio investment and other investment income), current transfers debits and credits.
  2. The capital account.
  3. The financial accounts, showing data for: net flows of assets and liabilities for direct investment (equity capital including reinvested earning and other capital), portfolio investment (broken down by type of instruments, by institutional sector of the resident counterpart), other investment (broken down by type of instruments long-, short-term, by institutional sector of the resident counterpart) and financial derivatives.
  4. Errors and omissions
  5. The changes in official reserve assets.

Valuation

Transactions are mostly valued at market prices.

Recording basis

The accruals principle is not applied.

Grossing/netting procedures

Transactions are recorded on a gross basis (credit and debit)

Source data collection programs

General remarks:

The Polish balance of payments compilation system is mixed. Settlement data are supplemented by data from surveys of enterprises and public statistics (CSO and Institute of Tourism).

One of the most important information sources for b.o.p. data collection purposes are payments recorded by the Polish banks. The settlements include transactions made by banks on their own account and on behalf of their clients. It is a closed system, i.e. all changes in the level of external accounts are explained. The balance on the external accounts at the beginning of the period plus transactions during the period equals the balance at the end of the period. The settlements system provides data for the compilation of the b.o.p. with detailed instrument/category and sector breakdowns. Reports include reporting of all credit and debit transactions and country breakdowns.

Comments on specific items:

Goods

The main source of data on goods for the b.o.p. is the foreign trade statistics (FTS) compiled by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) on the basis of Intrastate declarations (for intra European Union trade) as well as from the customs statistics (for extra EU trade). Data from the FTS are adjusted and converted in line with the definitions and methodology of the BPM5, including a c.i.f/f.o.b. adjustment and reclassification of services registered in the FTS as goods. Additional estimates are made for foreign trade flows not recorded by the FTS. Estimates of shuttle trade are derived in consultation with the CSO.

Services

Data on services are based on settlements made through the banking system. Those data are supplemented with information derived from surveys of enterprises’ transactions in services with non-residents. The travel item is compiled using Institute of Tourism data. The detailed breakdown of services is consistent with BPM5 recommendations.

Transportation

Data provided by the banking system on payments and by the surveys on enterprises for transportation services include services broken down by type (sea, air, railway, and other). These data are broken down by passenger transportation, freight, and other forms. Data received from the c.i.f./f.o.b. adjustment of the goods item are also included in freight transportation services. The value of these services is compiled as a fixed rate of the value of goods imports in the foreign trade statistics.

Travel

The b.o.p. travel item is compiled using data of the Institute of Tourism, which come from surveys. National Bank of Poland receives data on travelers’ expenditures: foreigners in Poland and Poles abroad. Since 2004 those data are provided to the b.o.p compilers quarterly with the required geographical breakdown.

When compiling monthly data, estimates are made using information of the Border Guard (on numbers of arrivals and departures) and payments data (including settlements on travel items recorded in the banking system and also purchases and sales of foreign banknotes).

Other services

The data source is information provided monthly by the banking system records. This information is supplemented with quarterly data from surveys of enterprises.

Income

Compensation of employees

Compensation of resident employees comprises wages, salaries, and other benefits in cash, earned by individuals, paid by nonresident employers and transferred to Poland. Compensation of nonresident employees comprises wages, salaries, and other benefits in cash, earned by individuals, paid by resident employers, and transferred abroad. The data are derived from banking statistics.

Investment income

Direct investment: In the monthly and quarterly b.o.p., income on direct investment, for both inward and outward investment, includes interest on equity (e.g. dividends and remittances of branch profits) and on debt.

The data on inter-company loans are collected from direct investors (for outward investment) and direct investment enterprises (for inward investment) in quarterly surveys. The data on dividends and bonds and money market instruments are recorded on a cash basis. Interest on inter-company loans is recorded for both directly and indirectly owned enterprises at the date on which it is due for payment. Capitalized interest is offset on a directional basis under other capital. The data on interest on trade credits are not calculated because they are negligible. The information on income on equity is supplemented through the annual survey.

Dividends and distributed branch earnings are recorded when payable, and reinvested earnings as well as undistributed profits are recorded in the period in which they are earned.

Reinvested earnings are calculated as profits earned (collected on an all-inclusive basis) during the period less dividends payable. The Fully Consolidated System is not applied: reinvested earnings are counted for directly-owned enterprises only. Since 1996, direct investors’ shares of losses have been introduced as negative reinvested earnings. The flows equal to reinvested earnings are recorded as additional equity capital in the financial account.

Portfolio investment: Data on portfolio investment income are derived from banking statistics. The information is available with a breakdown by instrument (equity, bonds and notes, money market instruments). The breakdown by domestic sector is also available (monetary authorities, general government, banks, other). For income on equity securities, only dividends are registered as income on portfolio investment; other gains on equity securities are classified as portfolio investment in the financial account.

No accrued interest (e.g., on zero-coupon bonds) is registered in the current account.

Other investment: Income from other investment includes interest on credits extended and received and interest on bank account deposits and repos. Interest flows on loans, deposits, etc. are provided by banks engaged in foreign exchange operations abroad. The settlement data are supplemented by interest on loans unrecorded by the banks, and interest received on deposits of non-banking institutions held with banks abroad. Interest is recorded on due-for-payment basis for loans and on a settlement basis for other instruments.

Current transfers

Current transfers data are mainly compiled on the basis of settlements. The classification of current transfers on items, required by the BPM5, is made using transaction codes of banking settlements.

Current transfers are broken down in the b.o.p. into governmental and other sectors, in which workers’ remittances and other transfers are recorded separately. For estimates of workers’ remittances, the information on cash transactions through banks’ bureaux de change is used as an additional source. These estimates are made on a net basis.

Capital transfers

Capital transfers include donations and grants to finance fixed assets, and debt forgiveness. The data are derived from the banking statistics and are supplemented with information on debt forgiveness and grants in kind.

Acquisition/disposal of non-produced non-financial assets

The acquisition/disposal of non-produced and non-financial assets refers to patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc. purchased by residents or sold to nonresidents, and land sold to foreign embassies in Poland or purchased by Polish embassies abroad. Data are derived from the banking statistics.

Direct investment

The monthly data on foreign direct investment are derived from the flows of international payments reported by the domestic banking sector. The data are broken down into equity and intercompany loans.

Annual data on equity capital and reinvested earnings come from surveys of direct investment enterprises in Poland and from Polish direct investors. Non-cash equity contributions are covered. Enterprise reports are a unique source for the compilation of the data. Information from other sources (e.g., press reports, published company accounts, bilateral sources, and exchange control authorities) are used to cross-checking and update the business register.

The criterion of 10 percent ownership of directly-owned enterprises is used to identify a direct investment relationship. The flows of direct investment are recorded on a directional basis. Reverse capital investments are observed but are negligible for the moment.

Until now, special-purpose entities (SPEs) have not been established in the Polish economy, although resident enterprises establish enterprises abroad that have the sole purpose of serving as financial intermediaries. The direct investment item includes only equity investments of these SPEs.

On a quarterly basis, the survey on external loans to enterprises provides further details on intercompany loans in accordance with the directional principle. Intercompany loans are broken down by maturity. The survey also includes financial leasing. Trade credits between affiliated enterprises are derived from stock data.

The portfolio investment item records transactions in securities between affiliates.

The fully consolidated system is not applied.

Portfolio investment

The source of data is settlements made by Polish banks.

Data on flows and stocks of inward and outward portfolio investment are generally collected on an aggregated basis. There are, however, exceptions for stocks of Polish securities issued abroad and Polish equity securities registered with custodian accounts with Polish banks. These data are collected on a security-by-security basis, using the ISIN codes for Polish equity securities registered with custodian accounts with Polish banks.

Equity securities include all types of tradable shares. As regards data on stocks for the IIP statement, they also include other types of non-tradable equity securities that bear ISIN codes (e.g. nominative shares). Shares in investment funds are also treated as equity. Debt securities include all kinds of long- and short-term securities. The one-year original maturity criterion is applied to classify securities as long- or short-term. Included are treasury bonds and notes, corporate bonds, treasury bills, commercial paper, and negotiable certificates of deposit. Also included are debt securities with embedded financial derivatives (e.g., convertible bonds or bonds with a put option).

Financial derivatives

Financial derivatives constitute a separate category of financial account in the Polish balance of payments. Banking records are the source of data on financial derivatives for the balance of payments.

The financial derivatives category includes all symmetric risk instruments, such as futures and forwards and swaps, and asymmetric risk instruments such as options. Income on transactions in derivatives is classified as financial derivatives.

Other investment

Trade credits

Data for trade credits are collected through quarterly surveys of major exporters and importers. The surveys provide end-of-quarter information on assets (prepayments on imports and trade credit extended to exports separately) and liabilities (prepayments on exports and trade credits received on imports). Data on trade credits regard the other sectors, although the low amount of credit received by local governments are covered. The breakdown of long-term and short-term trade credits by maturity is available as from 2003.

Loans

The NBP and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (both acting as agents of the government) provide data on external loans and borrowings of the general government.

For the banking sector (including the monetary authority), the data published in the quarterly b.o.p. are derived from a survey conducted on a quarterly basis. A breakdown by maturity is available. These flows are checked and reconciled with stock data.

The data on enterprises’ loans in the monthly b.o.p. are estimated on the basis on bank reports and they are broken down by maturity. The data published in the quarterly b.o.p. are derived from a survey conducted on a quarterly basis. The information covers loans extended and repaid in cash, goods, or services, as well as a cancellation of the loan amount or a reorganization of debt through rescheduling, debt forgiveness, refinancing, or prepayments.

The item records data on financial leasing and also includes information reported by private individuals. A breakdown by maturity is available.

Currency and deposits

Currency and deposits comprise transactions of Polish banks’ assets and liabilities arising from current accounts and deposits, as well as foreign currency banknotes and coins held in banks’ vaults. These data are supplemented with information on changes of stocks in the accounts of Polish non-banking institutions held with banks abroad. Currency and deposits also includes repurchase agreements.

Other assets and liabilities

Other assets and liabilities cover data on assets and liabilities other than loans, debt securities, trade credits, currency, and deposits mainly arrears.

Reserve assets

The NBP is the holder of the official Polish international reserves. The reserve assets comprise monetary gold, special drawing rights (SDRs), the reserve position in the IMF, foreign exchange (currency and deposits, securities, and financial derivatives), and other claims (repurchase agreements). Data on transactions in reserve assets are obtained from the NBP’s records on a monthly basis.

Other statistical procedures

Balance of payments data are not seasonally adjusted.

Moody's Analytics supplements

For current account balance, we back-extend (2000 to 2003) and construct a seasonally adjusted supplement.

For select intermediate aggregates, we construct additive identities: current account goods and services, capital and financial accounts, financial account portfolio investment, financial account other investment.

Balance of payments

Yes. The Source generally revises data for the previous month with each current month's update but in some cases can revise further. 

Gross external debt

Unknown.

Further reading

At IMF (SDDS):

  • Sep 2005 - Initial version.
  • Nov 2014 - Framework advanced to BPM6.
  • 16 Oct 2023, Phillip Thorne - Addendum of external debt: Properties, Moody's Analytics supplements, Further reading.