Which institution publishes the Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange?

The Bank for International Settlements publishes and coordinates the Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange. The survey is the leading global snapshot of trading activity in over-the-counter foreign-exchange markets.

The BIS does not conduct the survey as a retail-rate poll. Participating central banks and monetary authorities collect data from dealers in their jurisdictions, aggregate the results and transmit them to the BIS. The BIS then standardizes and publishes the international totals, making different markets more comparable.

The foreign-exchange survey has been conducted every three years since 1986. It covers instruments such as spot trades, outright forwards, foreign-exchange swaps, currency swaps and options. The results help policymakers and market participants assess market size, liquidity, currency use and changes in trading structure.

The Federal Reserve may contribute US data, while the IMF and World Bank publish important financial statistics of their own, but neither is the institution responsible for this survey. The word “triennial” means once every three years, not three times annually.