DATABASES

BACH is a database containing harmonized annual accounts statistics of non-financial enterprises for 9 European countries (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland) Japan and the United States, available from 1989 onward.

The BACH database was set up by the European Commission in 1987, to compensate for the lack of a database allowing for inter-country comparisons. Hence, the database was conceived as a useful tool to analyze the structure and performances of the non-financial companies in the selected countries, exploiting the statistical records from the national bodies collecting annual account data.

During the last decades, the Directorate General for the Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN), jointly with the members of the European Committee of Central Balance-Sheet Data Offices, delivering aggregated data, have made significant improvements concerning the harmonization and comparative analysis of annual accounts. This leads to the creation of a new database, BACH 2, in 1995. The revised database provides aggregated data based on the most recent sectoral classifications (NACE Rev. 1.1 and Main Industrial Grouping). Moreover the BACH also contains coverage rates as well as comprehensive and harmonized descriptions of the national datasets.

The ESD database contains financial ratios for non-financial incorporated European companies and provides sectoral benchmarks to compare the financial performances of single firms with its respective sectoral and size aggregate.

The database primary aim is to provide consistent and comprehensive figures to credit and financial institutions for their credit risk analysis.

Currently, the benchmarks statistic includes 28 ratios for Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

The ratios are shown in quartiles as theses statistical measures are quite robust with regard to values of very large corporations and other extreme values are included in the sample.