This is a reflection of the structure of their economies and needs to be well understood when assessing the evolution of the current account. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Chart 3 Current account balances of G20 members Ratios to nominal GDP – 2005–2009 average  Second, was the current account surplus indicative of “imbalances”?
The current account surplus may have been indicative of “imbalances”, but does not provide sufficiently granular information to make an effective assessment. The emergence of unsustainable imbalances seems to be better and more clearly captured through other indicators such as large jumps in asset prices and the rapid expansion in corporate sector debt (Charts 4 and 5).