Regarding the publication of the results of the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey – HFCS, the Central Bank of Cyprus wishes to clarify the following:
The survey was conducted for the first time at the euro area level, with the reference year 2010. The report titled “The Eurosystem Household and Consumption Survey – Results from the first wave” recognises and analyses the heterogeneity between participating countries. Specifically, the following remarks are mentioned:
· The structure of households varies quite considerably across participating countries, with implications for cross-country comparisons of the results (e.g. there are more adults per household in Cyprus compared with other countries and as a result larger households tend to accumulate more wealth, especially wealth related to real estate, than smaller households).
· There are historical, cultural and institutional factors that appear to be inherent in the results and which can explain the differences between countries.
In the report there is a specific reference for Cyprus. In particular, it is mentioned that the data for Cyprus appear not to be comparable with those for other euro area countries in a number of dimensions. For this reason the results should be interpreted with caution.
Finally, it is noted that the microdata of this survey will be a source for further study and research to fully understand the heterogeneity between countries in order for firm conclusions to be drawn.