L 305/6 Official Journal of the European Union 1.11.2012 REGULATION (EU) No 1011/2012 OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK of 17 October 2012 concerning statistics on holdings of securities (ECB/2012/24) THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular Article 5 thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (hereinafter the ‘ESA 95 (1), and in particular Annex A thereto, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (%), and in particular Articles 5(1) and 6(4) thereof, Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 958/2007 of the European Central Bank of 27 July 2007 concerning statistics on the assets and liabilities of investment funds (ECB/2007/8) (3), Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 24/2009 of the European Central Bank of 19 December 2008 concerning statistics on the assets and liabilities of financial vehicle corporations engaged in securitisation transactions (ECB/2008/30) (*), Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 25/2009 of the European Central Bank of 19 December 2008 concerning the balance sheet of the monetary financial institutions sector (ECB/2008/32) (), Having regard to Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on markets in financial instruments amending Council Directives 85/611/EEC and 93/6/EEC and Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 93/22[EEC (%), Having regard to Directive 2006/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institu- tions (), Whereas: (1)  To perform European System of Central Banks (ESCB) tasks and to monitor the financial markets and financial activities within the euro area, the European () O] L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1. () O] L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8. () OJ L 211, 11.8.2007, p. 8. (% O] L 15, 20.1.2009, p. 1. () O] L 15, 20.1.2009, p. 14. () O] L 145, 30.4.2004, p. 1. () O] L 177, 30.6.2006, p. 1. ) Central Bank (ECB), assisted by the national central banks (NCBs), needs to collect high quality statistical information on a security-by-security basis regarding securities held by euro area institutional sectors, and securities issued by euro area residents and held by non-euro area institutional sectors. To contribute to the smooth conduct of policies pursued by the competent authorities relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions, the stability of the financial system and the analysis of the monetary policy transmission mechanism, the ECB needs to collect security-by-security information from banking groups on those groups’ holdings of securities. The purpose of the data to be collected is to provide the ECB with comprehensive statistical information on the exposure of economic sectors and individual banking groups in the euro area Member States to specific classes of securities and on the links between the economic sectors of holders and issuers of securities, and on the market for securities issued by euro area residents. The importance of having accurate information on the exposure of economic sectors and of banking groups to specific classes of securities at a very disaggregated level became evident during the financial crisis, as risks to financial stability due to contagion mechanisms at the level of individual financial institu- tions, generated by specific classes of securities, could not be properly identified from aggregated data. Timely information on holdings of securities at the level of indi- vidual securities will also allow the ECB to monitor the transmission of risks from the financial markets to the real economy. In addition, this statistical information will support the ECB in analysing financial market developments, and in monitoring the changes in the securities portfolios of economic sectors and the links between financial inter- mediaries and non-financial investors. Given the interconnection between monetary policy and the stability of the financial system, the collection of statistical information on a security-by-security Dbasis concerning securities holdings positions and financial transactions, and for the derivation of transactions from positions, is also necessary to satisfy regular and ad hoc analytical needs to support the ECB in carrying out monetary and financial analysis, and for the contribution by the ESCB to the stability of the financial system. This statistical information will allow information on securities held by institutional sectors to be combined with information on the individual issuers across the world, thus providing an important tool to monitor the buildup and evolution of financial imbalances.