Commercial Databases Providing Bank-Level Data
Bankscope provides financial data (financial statements and bank performance indicators) for more than 10,000 individual banks. Bank-level data can be aggregated automatically, but the prudential indicators are sometimes available only for a limited number of banks, thereby creating distortions in the aggregate indicators. Data can be filtered by banking groups (e. g., commercial banks, savings banks, cooperative banks, foreign banks, state-owned banks), although the ownership information is sometimes incomplete. The data coverage is as follows:
• Years covered: 1995 onward, annual frequency
• Countries covered: covers most of the countries in the world, but level of banking system coverage varies by country
Banker’s Almanac provides a comprehensive list of all the financial institutions in a particular country with their ownership and some financial statement information: stylized balance sheet and income statement data for the past 5 years, plus three performance indicators (return on assets, return on equity, and equity capital to total assets). The data coverage is as follows:
• Years covered: 1999 onward, annual frequency
• Countries covered: worldwide coverage
Bloomberg provides company-level financial information (summary balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and performance indicators) for large listed banks, other financial and nonfinancial companies, and a variety of capital markets data and market-based indicators, including information on bond spreads, derivative instruments, ratings, and the like. The data coverage is as follows:
• Years covered: varies by bank, usually about 10 years for the large international banks, annual figures, some quarterly figures available
• Countries covered: Global, covering about 126 countries; data coverage varies by country, more adequate coverage for the industrialized countries and large emerging markets
Thomson One Banker provides company-level financial information (annual reports and financial ratios covering leverage, profitability, liquidity, asset utilization including market indices, and stock performance data for publicly traded companies). Companies can be filtered by industry (market sector). Financial information for banks and financial services companies is also available, but coverage varies by country and is often limited for emerging market countries. Thomson One Banker data are also retrievable through DataStream Advance. The data coverage is as follows:
• Years covered: 1990 onward, annual frequency, quarterly for the United States
• Countries covered: countries with active stock exchanges
DataStream Advance provides data on equities, equity indices, bonds, bond indices, interest rates, futures, options, and commodities. Thomson One Banker’s company information can also be accessed through DataStream Advance. The data coverage is as follows:
• Years covered: varies by country, indicator, and company, usually at least 10 years for market data
