Bank of England | Database
General navigation
The Database is intended to complement, but not replace, the regular Statistical outputs which are published by the Data and Statistics Division (DSD). Data series published in DSD Statistical releases and the Monetary and Financial Statistics publication ("Bankstats") can be searched for, selected and downloaded through the Database.
There are a number of ways to navigate around the Database, most easily from the links in the banner at the top of each page. Users can browse data by topic, financial category, economic/industrial sector and country, in addition to using search functionality and viewing tables (including interest and exchange rates data). The various browsing options and searches return results, from which users can select series of interest. The data topic approach allows users to drill down into a 'hierarchy' of data organised by subject and select relevant series of interest from within that list. There are also options to view charts for user defined series lists, or predefined visual summaries of data.
Following the selection of series via any of these methods, users are taken to a selection summary page where they can select a date range, view further information on selected series and choose from a number of different download options.
How to...
Browse data by topic
Select the topic required and use the
and
signs to expand and collapse sections of the hierarchy.
Tick boxes
are provided to select the required series when series level is reached. Alternatively, the
and
buttons can be used to select / deselect any series that are exposed within that particular section of the hierarchy.
There are options at the top of the page to view footnotes and / or links to explanatory notes at the next stage.Click
to move on to the selection summary, where a date range and further information can be selected. Click
to complete the data retrieval and choose from a number of different download options.
Table codes can be displayed by clicking
at the top of the page. Clicking on the table number provides a list of all available tables that data can be viewed in. The data may differ from those on the Database if updates have occurred since Bankstats publication. Although they appear in appropriate positions within these lists, not all data on the Database appears in Bankstats.
Due to the complex HTML table structure on these pages, there may be a delay between click and display while your browser constructs the page.
Browse data by tables
Select the table name required to view a basic summary of the table, with links to each of the key series. When a series is selected from the table, the selection summary will provide options to select a date range and view further information. Clickto complete the data retrieval and choose from a number of download options.
Browse by data category
Select the data category required. Choose to browse data by country, financial category, economic/industrial sector and alphabetically.
Select the relevant subcategory directly from the list, or use the A to Z links at the top to be directed to the first letter of the associated subcategory. The database will return a list of all series that relate to the selection.
Select the required series from the list provided and clickto view the selection summary, where a date range and further information can be selected. Clickto complete the data retrieval and choose from a number of download options.
Search the Database
The keyword search defaults to searching for words within series titles and sequences of three or more letters and / or numbers within series codes.
The search engine will allow phrases to be entered by enclosing the phrase in quotation marks, e.g. ‘foreign currencies’.
Brackets allow complex searches to be built, e.g. (‘banks’ AND ‘approvals’) OR (‘building societies’ AND ‘commitments’) would return any series that contains 'banks' and 'approvals' or 'building societies' and 'commitments'.
Wildcards (*) in a search term indicates zero, one, or more characters to be searched for, e.g. lend* will return series with lend, lending or lenders in their titles or footnotes. When searching for series codes, the Database assumes wildcards at the beginning and end of the search term, unless they have been specifically included in a search.
Click
once the search criteria have been entered. If a more specific search is required, the advanced search should be used.
Search the Database using advanced search
The advanced search provides additional search options. The first options are to include or exclude certain terms and the use of a thesaurus adds similar or related words to the search in an attempt to ensure that appropriate results are returned. The thesaurus is active by default, but can be deactivated by unticking the box if the exact word or phrase being searched for is in the title or code of the series.
The default option for the search is series titles and codes, but can be changed to search footnotes only if required.
In addition, there are four properties of the data series that can be used to narrow a search. If for example, the series being searched for was a one-month growth rate, this can be selected from the 'Type of data' drop down menu; if the frequency of series is known this can be selected from the 'Series frequency' drop down menu. The default option of ‘All’ should be used if the exact criteria is unknown, to avoid excluding results from the search.
The search options can be returned to their defaults using the reset option.
Clickonce the search criteria have been entered.
View interest & exchange rates data
Select exchange rates from the banner at the top of the page to view GBP, EUR and USD daily rates, or select Interest & exchange rates data from the Quick links section.
Select the rate required and use theand signs to expand and collapse sections of the tables.
Tick boxesare provided to select the required series when series level is reached. Alternatively, once within the tables, the
and
buttons can be used to select / deselect any series that are exposed within that particular section of the hierarchy.
There are options at the top of the page to view footnotes and / or links to explanatory notes at the next stage. Clickto move on to the selection summary, where a date range and further information can be selected. Clickto complete the data retrieval and choose from a number of different download options.
N.B. The exchange rates are not official rates and are no more authoritative than that of any commercial bank operating in the London foreign exchange market. Daily rates will be updated at 9:30am, no more than two working days after the date to which they relate.
More detailed data on UK yield curves are published at Yield curves. Data are updated on the following working day. A wider range of maturities are available.
View new/revised data
New and revised data for a series can be viewed by selecting
on the selection summary page.
This option flags new and revised data observations between the selected date ranges that have been published; (a) since the previous publication or (b) from a given date.
The default filter settings return all data, including new and revised observations between the chosen date ranges which have been applied to the selected series code(s). The new/revised data filter was enabled on 3 June 2007 and therefore won’t allow a request prior to this date. The 'Only show updated data' option should be selected to view only the new and revised data observations.
New and revised data values can be identified in all output options. Both HTML and Excel output options create a hyperlink to display any previous values which have been applied to an individual series code and reporting date combination. Historical publication data is also available through XML (but not CSV).
The new/revised data option will be active until
is selected.
Series codes
Each series has an associated series code, with the majority of series comprising of seven characters. They combine a prefix (usually three letters), which contains some information about the type and frequency of the data (for internal use), and a four digit character code. The latter does not usually contain information about the series, it is randomly assigned.
Some codes also contain a suffix of further characters, which indicates a further breakdown of a series by bank groups or countries/regions. The series codes can be searched for either in their entirety or using a combination of three or more characters from the code. Series codes also appear at series level when using the browse by topic navigation. Users of Bankstats can find these codes in the publication, with the prefix usually towards the top left of the page and four character identifiers near the series titles.
Explanatory notes and footnotes
Explanatory notes provide more information on individual data series and tables of data. When a series is selected, whether from within tables, following a search, or use of the category list, there is an option for viewing links to explanatory notes.
These notes, in the form of web pages, cover information on data availability, sources, definitions and links to relevant Bankstats articles. If the option has been ticked at the series selection stage, markers will appear, where applicable, after each series title on the selection summary page (*1). The markers relate to links shown at the bottom of the selection summary page.
Footnotes relate to specific series or groups of series, providing more detailed information about events affecting the data or details of specific breaks in series. When a series is selected, whether from within tables, following a search, or use of the category list, there is an option for viewing associated footnotes. Footnotes can also be searched for using the advanced search option. If the footnotes option has been ticked at the series selection stage, footnotes will appear, where applicable, under the series titles in the selection summary page. Footnotes will also be downloaded alongside the data in which ever download option has been selected, expect for csv format.
Start and end dates
Series on the Database start and end at different points in time. Some series go back as far as the early 1960s, whereas others may have only been introduced more recently, for example, series relating to the euro. All available data for a series can be downloaded by using the default date options at the selection summary page. Alternatively the date range can be narrowed by using the from/to date options. If the series selected differ in length of time or frequency, n/a will appear where there are no data for a particular point in time. If the date range specified does not have any data for any of the series selected, a message will be shown to reflect this.
Data updates
The exchange rates are not official rates and are no more authoritative than that of any commercial bank operating in the London foreign exchange market.
We aim to update the Database by 10am. Daily rates, depending on the series will publish 1 -2 working days after the date to which they relate. At times however, there may be further delays.
Excel downloads
An automatic Excel download of specific series for a certain date range can be setup by using the following link:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/_iadb-fromshowcolumns.asp?excel97.x=yes
with these parameters appended:
| Parameter name | Required format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Datefrom | DD/MON/YYYY (mandatory parameter) | 01/Feb/2006 |
| Dateto | DD/MON/YYYY or "now" (mandatory parameter) | 01/Oct/2007 |
| SeriesCodes | Comma separated list of full series codes (mandatory parameter) | LPMAUZI,LPMAVAA |
| UsingCodes | "Y" (mandatory parameter) | Y |
| VPD | "Y" or "N" (optional parameter) | Y |
| VFD | "Y" or "N" (optional parameter) | Y |
An example of a fully qualified url is:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/_iadb-fromshowcolumns.asp?excel97.x=yes&Datefrom=01/Feb/2006&Dateto=01/Oct/2007 &SeriesCodes=LPMAUZI,LPMAVAA&UsingCodes=Y&VPD=Y&VFD=N
The "SeriesCodes" parameter supports up to 250 comma separated codes in a single request.
The "VPD=Y" parameter need only be included if provisional data is desired.
The "VFD=Y" parameter should be supplied if you want to see any observation footnotes which have been associated to the selected data observations.
When viewing Excel pages in a web browser, clicking the 'Save As' option from the 'File' menu will bring up the 'Save As' dialog box. The default file format is .html, but to save as .xls (an Excel spreadsheet), select this file format from the 'Save as type' drop-down box. Excel will not allow two spreadsheets with the same filename to be open simultaneously, so the original version in the browser window will need to be closed before attempting to open the saved version.
HTML downloads
An automatic HTML download of specific series for a certain date range can be setup by using the following link:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/_iadb-fromshowcolumns.asp?html.x=yes
with these parameters appended:
| Parameter name | Required format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Datefrom | DD/MON/YYYY (mandatory parameter) | 01/Feb/2006 |
| Dateto | DD/MON/YYYY or "now" (mandatory parameter) | 01/Oct/2007 |
| SeriesCodes | Comma separated list of full series codes (mandatory parameter) | LPMAUZI,LPMAVAA |
| UsingCodes | "Y" (mandatory parameter) | Y |
| VPD | "Y" or "N" (optional parameter) | Y |
| VFD | "Y" or "N" (optional parameter) | Y |
An example of a fully qualified url is:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/_iadb-fromshowcolumns.asp?html.x=yes&Datefrom=01/Feb/2006&Dateto=01/Oct/2007 &SeriesCodes=LPMAUZI,LPMAVAA&UsingCodes=Y&VPD=Y&VFD=N
The "SeriesCodes" parameter supports up to 300 comma separated codes in a single request.
The "VPD=Y" parameter need only be included if provisional data is desired.
The "VFD=Y" parameter should be supplied if you want to see any observation footnotes which have been associated to the selected data observations.
XML downloads
An automatic XML download of specific series for a certain date range can be setup by using the following link:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/_iadb-fromshowcolumns.asp?CodeVer=new&xml.x=yes
with these parameters appended:
| Parameter name | Required format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Datefrom | DD/MON/YYYY (mandatory parameter) | 01/Feb/2006 |
| Dateto | DD/MON/YYYY or "now" (mandatory parameter) | 01/Oct/2007 |
| SeriesCodes | Comma separated list of full series codes (mandatory parameter) | LPMAUZI,LPMAVAA |
| VPD | "Y" or "N" (optional parameter) | Y |
| VFD | "Y" or "N" (optional parameter) | Y |
| VUD | "A" or "B" (optional parameter - see below) | A |
| VUDdate | DD/MON/YYYY or latest (conditional parameter - see below) | 01/Jul/2007 |
| Omit | See Alias values below (optional parameter) | -A2-B3-D |
An example of a fully qualified url is:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/_iadb-fromshowcolumns.asp?CodeVer=new&xml.x=yes&Datefrom=01/Feb/2006&Dateto=01/Oct/2007 &SeriesCodes=LPMAUZI,LPMAVAA&VPD=Y&VFD=N&VUD=A&VUDdate=01/Aug/2007&Omit=-A2-B3-D
The "SeriesCodes" parameter supports up to 300 comma separated codes in a single request. If you want to list metadata for all series that have been added within a particular date range then enter the keyword "all" for the "SeriesCodes" parameter. This option does not return data observations.
The "VPD=Y" parameter need only be included if provisional data is desired. Only the provisional data value (PROV_VALUE) is returned if an actual data value (OBS_VALUE) also exists for the same series and reporting date combination.
The "VFD=Y" parameter should be supplied if you want to see any observation footnotes which have been associated to the selected data observations.
The "VUD" parameter should be included if you wish to return any updated (new and revised) data observations, for the supplied series codes and reporting date range, which have been applied to the database either from a given "VUDdate" parameter value or since the previous release.
The valid "VUD" values are as follows:
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| A | All data observations, between the supplied from and to date range, including any updated (new and revised) data. |
| B | Updated (new and revised) data observations only, between the supplied from and to date range. |
The "VUDdate" parameter (if supplied) will retrieve any updated data observations that have been applied to the database since the supplied date. The parameter value can be an historic date (between the 03/Jun/2007 baseline and the previous working day) or the keyword "latest" (if you are just interested in updates since the previous working day). This parameter should be excluded if you only wish to retrieve the specified "VUD" data observations published since the previous release.
The "Omit" parameter allows the suppression of an element and/or its associated attributes from an XML instance.
The valid "Omit" alias values are as follows:
| Element | Attribute | Alias | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CUBE | - | -A | Excludes the series code metadata attribute aliases -A1, -A2 and -A3 |
| - | DESC | -A1 | Excludes the series description attribute. |
| - | COUNTRY | -A2 | Excludes the country attribute. |
| - | CONCAT | -A3 | Excludes the concatenated title attribute. |
| CUBE | - | -B | Excludes the frequency metadata cube and its attributes (aliases -B1, -B2 and -B3). |
| - | FRE |