L 10/24 Official Journal of the European Communities 12.1.2002 REGULATION (EC) No 63/2002 OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK of 20 December 2001 concerning statistics on interest rates applied by monetary financial institutions to deposits and loans vis-a-vis households and non-financial corporations (ECB/2001/18) THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 253398 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical infor- mation by the European Central Bank ('), and in particular to Article 5(1) and Article 6(4) thereof, Whereas: The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) requires, for the fulfilment of its tasks, the production of statistics on interest rates applied by monetary financial institu- tions (MFIs) to deposits and loans vis-a-vis households and non-financial corporations, the main purpose of which is to provide the European Central Bank (ECB) with a comprehensive, detailed and harmonised statist- ical picture of the level of interest rates applied by MFIs and their changes over time. These interest rates provide the final link in the mechanism for the transmission of the monetary policy arising from changes in official interest rates and, therefore, are a necessary precondition for a reliable analysis of monetary developments in the participating Member States. At the same time, informa- tion about interest rate developments is needed for the ESCB to contribute to the smooth conduct of policies pursued by the competent authorities relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions and the stability of the financial system. The ECB shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Community (herein- after referred to as the ‘Treaty’) and under the conditions laid down in the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (herein- after referred to as the ‘Statute’), make regulations to the extent necessary to implement the tasks of the ESCB as defined in the Statute and in some cases laid down in the provisions adopted by the Council referred to in Article 107(6) of the Treaty. Article 5.1 of the Statute requires the ECB, assisted by the national central banks (NCBs), to collect the neces- sary statistical information either from the competent national authorities or directly from economic agents in order to undertake the tasks of the ESCB. Article 5.2 of () O] L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8. the Statute stipulates that the NCBs shall carry out, to the extent possible, the tasks described in Article 5.1. It may be necessary, and reduce the reporting burden, for NCBs to collect from the actual reporting population the statistical information necessary to fulfil the statist- ical reporting requirements of the ECB as part of a broader statistical reporting framework which the NCBs establish under their own responsibility in accordance with Community or national law or established practice and which serves other statistical purposes, provided the fulfilment of the statistical requirements of the ECB is not jeopardised. In order to foster transparency, it is appropriate, in these cases, to inform the reporting agents that data are collected to fulfil other statistical purposes. In specific cases, the ECB may rely on statist- ical information collected for such purposes to fulfil its requirements. Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 requires the ECB to specify the actual reporting population within the limits of the reference reporting population and to minimise the reporting burden involved. For the purposes of MFI interest rate statistics, the actual reporting population will either comprise a census of all relevant MFIs or, alternatively, a sample of relevant MFIs based on specified criteria. In view of the characteristics of the MFI sector in each of the participating Member States the final choice of the selection method is left to the NCBs. The aim is to reduce the reporting burden while at the same time ensuring high quality statistics. Article 5(1) provides that the ECB may adopt regulations for the definition and the imposition of its statistical reporting requirements on the actual reporting popula- tion of participating Member States. Article 6(4) provides that the ECB may adopt regulations specifying the conditions under which the right to verify or to carry out the compulsory collection of statistical infor- mation may be exercised. Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 provides for Member States to organise themselves in the field of statistics and to cooperate fully with the ESCB in order to ensure fulfilment of the obligations arising from Article 5 of the Statute.