Quarterly derivatives (DQ) return

Key facts

Data to be reported:	Asset and liability positions in derivatives Financial derivatives are financial instruments that are linked to a specific financial instrument or indicator or commodity, through which specific financial risks can be traded in financial markets in their own right. The value of a financial derivative derives from the price of the underlying item: the reference price. The reference price may relate to a commodity, a financial asset, an interest rate, an exchange rate, another derivative or a spread between two prices. The derivative contract may also refer to an index or a basket of prices. Close
Who has to report:	Firms reporting over £10 billion gross in derivatives positions on their balance sheet (BT) return Check who needs to submit returns
Data uses:	Bankstats tables (Bank of England) Balance of payments (ONS) National accounts (ONS)
Frequency:	Quarterly
Coverage:	Go to reporting criteria to find detailed calculations used to determine eligibility

Deadlines

Firms need to report figures as at the last calendar day of the reporting period.

Go to reporting criteria to download deadlines for all returns for all available years.

Reporting period	Reporters impacted	Deadline (5pm UK time)	Concessionary deadline (5pm UK time)

Deadlines for 2027 will be released in November 2026.

Instructions

Overview of reported data

This return captures reporting institutions’ derivative positions. It includes breakdowns by:

• assets and liabilities 
• market risk and/or product type – for example, credit derivatives or interest rate products
• country

It also captures:

• currency breakdowns – sterling, euro, other – with foreign currencies to be reported in sterling
• the broad economic sectors of counterparties – for example, banks versus UK private corporations or the public sector  

In every return firms also need to include the following information:

• their company name
• their legal entity identifier (LEI) or firm reference number (FRN) 
• the first day of the reporting period
• the last day of the reporting period

Core documents

You can find detailed instructions in the documents below.

Derivative Quarterly (DQ) specific documents

All statistical returns

Document	Notes for all reporters	Last updated
Classification of accounts guide (PDF)	Includes detailed guidance on how to classify counterparties plus country lists	24 Apr 2024
General notes and definitions (PDF)	Includes an introduction to preparing returns and definitions of common terms	24 Apr 2024