Frequently Asked Questions - Building Society reporting: Data submission
This page is intended to help Building Societies who have any queries relating to data submission to the Bank of England. The content will be updated on an ongoing basis.
Other FAQ pages are available for:
- General Queries
- Form specific queries
- Form ER
- Form PL
If you require any further assistance on these subjects please contact us.
Q. How does electronic reporting to the Bank work?
A. The individual forms need to be output into a predefined ASCII file. This is then compressed and then encrypted. The encrypted file is then e-mailed to a dedicated e-mail address and the sender will receive a receipt from the Bank. All of these processes are explained in the BEERS technical specification.
Q. Do BT quarterly reporters have to report electronically?
A. Reporting electronically is not mandatory, but is the Bank’s preferred method of data submission. For Form BT quarterly reporters, if it is not possible to report electronically, we will accept a faxed copy of the form. However, electronic reporters have the advantage of additional days for some form reporting deadlines.
Q. Is it possible to just e-mail an Excel version of the forms?
A. No. Only files in the BEERS format can be e-mailed to the dedicated e-mail address. The Bank cannot accept Excel files as your forms must be signed on the front page by an authorised official of your reporting institution. The digital signature from the encryption process supplies the signature for files sent in the BEERS format.
Q. How can an electronic reporting code be obtained?
A. Please email mfsd_electronic_queries@bankofengland.co.uk and ask for an electronic reporting code. The name of your reporting institution will be required.
Q. Is it possible to use in house encryption software to send data electronically?
A. No. Public 5.0 should be used. Purchase details are available in the technical specification area of the Bank’s website.
Q. How much is the encryption software? Where can it be purchased from?
A. Files are encrypted using software called PUBLIC which is available from Sophos Plc. The charge is £895 (plus VAT) for each licence and this is a one off payment (i.e. there is no annual fee). Contact details for Sophos can be found on page 145 of the BEERS technical specification.
Q. With the encryption software, what do I generate my username/key as?
A. Key generation is explained in the “Generating keys” section of the PUBLIC User manual (this manual comes with the software). The key must be given a name, this is BANKxxxx, where xxxx is the unique four digit electronic reporting code allocated by the Bank.
Q. How is a BOE public key obtained?
A. Please email mfsd_electronic_queries@bankofengland.co.uk and ask for the key. The name of your reporting institution and your unique four digit electronic reporting code will be required.
Q. How is the Bank of England public key loaded?
A. The loading of keys is explained in the “Importing Keys” section of the PUBLIC User manual.
Q. Is it possible to test en electronic submission?
A. Please e-mail test files to mfsd_ebeers_test@bankofengland.co.uk. Automatic receipts are not sent from this e-mail address so the Bank will contact you by e-mail with the results of your test. Please use a valid reporting date for the form and please note that this must not be a date in the future. If test data for more than one reporting institution are being sent, please do not send these in the same e-mail.
Q. Should the Bank be informed if the source email address that the BEERS files are sent from changes?
A. Yes. The Bank maintains a list of e-mail addresses who are allowed to send us files in the BEERS format. Please e-mail the new e-mail address to mfsd_electronic_queries@bankofengland.co.uk.
Q. Previous correspondence has suggested that the Bank may ask for a BT as at end December - is this the case?
A. The Bank has requested a BT, and for those requested to report it a BE, as at end-December. All institutions should have received a letter explaining what is required. If you have not received this letter, please contact Pat O’Connor (Tel. 020 7601 4450).
Q. Can test data be sent to the Bank ahead of dual reporting to help check understanding of the transition to Bank returns?
A. Yes. We would be happy to have any forms ahead of dual reporting, please contact Pat O’Connor (Tel. 020 7601 4450).
Q. Who should I contact with any queries?
| General Issues | Pat O'Connor | 020 7601 4450 |
| Data Submission issues | Leslie Lambert | 020 7601 4544 |
| Cash Ratio Deposits | Sarah Waddington | 020 7601 5505 |
Individual Forms:
| BT, BE, Q1(D), QX, AD, AL, MM/MQ | Sue Docker | 020 7601 3236 |
| CA, CC, CL, CE, C1, DQ | Pat O'Connor | 020 7601 4450 |
| PL, BG, HI, HO | Martin Udy | 020 7601 4731 |
| ER | Mhairi Burnett | 020 7601 5479 |
