Regulatory Alerts2026-02-06
Update on Changes to Country Groupings for International Banking Statistics
The Bank of England implements revised country grouping conventions for International Banking Statistics, effective from March 2026 publications. The update reclassifies several countries between Advanced Economies and Emerging Market and Developing Economies to align with International Monetary Fund standards, while replacing the European nationality series with EEA. All adjustments are backdated to September 1997 without maintaining legacy series, and Bulgaria will be added to the Advanced Economies group following its euro area accession.
This article provides an update regarding implementing changes for country grouping conventions used in statistics covering the international business of monetary financial institutions operating in the UK and the consolidated claims of UK headquartered monetary financial institutions.
Published on
06 February 2026
Bankstats article
Following the previously announced delay required to implement the new country grouping conventions for International Banking Statistics , the Bank will be implementing these changes with effect from our publication of 2025 Q4 data, scheduled for 6 March 2026 (international business of monetary financial institutions operating in the UK) and 20 March 2026 (consolidated claims of UK headquartered monetary financial institutions).
Additionally, we will also be making minor alterations to the composition of the new country groupings previously communicated in the initial announcement. This follows a recent update to the Bank for International Settlements groupings for Advanced Economies (AE) and Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDE) to align them with the internationally recognised classifications used in the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook (see WEO’s Frequently Asked Questions for further details).
The countries affected by the reclassification are as follows:
Countries previously proposed for inclusion in the EMDE grouping that will be reclassified to AE: Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Israel, South Korea, Macao, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Countries previously proposed for inclusion in the AE grouping that will be reclassified to EMDE: Anguilla, Aruba, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Falkland Islands, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Pitcairn Islands, Sint Maarten, St Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Wallis and Futuna Islands.
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Only individual countries that have material positions are shown in the published tables. As such, Anguilla, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Pitcairn Islands, and Wallis and Futuna Islands are included under the residual ‘Other’ category for the geographical region where they are located rather than listed individually.
A full detailed country breakdown of the country groups is in the spreadsheet accompanying this Bankstats article, with relevant changes highlighted.
In our original announcement, we outlined updates for the series in Table C3.1 where the nationality of reporting institution aggregates will change to “UK”, “American, “Japanese”, “European”, and “Other”. Upon further review, it is felt more appropriate to use “EEA” (European Economic Area) instead of “European”.
The changes will be implemented back to September 1997, and the legacy series using the old country groups will not be maintained. This will affect both our published tables, statistical releases, and data available on our database .
In addition, with the accession of Bulgaria to the euro area on 1 January 2026 , Bulgaria will be reclassified to Advanced Economies with effect from our publication of 2026 Q1 data, scheduled for 5 June 2026 (international business of monetary financial institutions operating in the UK) and 19 June 2026 (consolidated claims of UK headquartered monetary financial institutions).
IBS country groups
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