In associated guidelines, a number of such services are identified including:   Taking, managing and transferring deposits;    Providing flexible payment mechanisms such as debit cards;    Making loans or other investments; and    Offering financial advice or other business services. FISIM is estimated for loans and deposits only. The calculation is based on the difference between the effective rates of interest (payable and receivable) and a “reference” rate of interest, multiplied by the stock of outstanding balances. According to SNA guidelines, “this reference rate represents the pure cost of borrowing funds – that is, a rate from which the risk premium has been eliminated to the greatest extent possible, and that does not include any intermediation services”. 2 For example, a £ loan with a 9% interest receivable and a 4% reference rate gives current price FISIM on the loan = £ x (9%–4%) = £ And for a £ deposit with a 3% interest payable and a 4% reference rate, this gives current price FISIM on the deposit = £ x (4%–3%) = £ Overall, estimated current price FISIM accounts for a significant share of gross output of the banking sector (Chart 7). Estimating a real measure of FISIM is fraught with both conceptual and computational difficulties. In the earlier example of the second-hand car dealer, statisticians can use the number of cars sold as an indicator of the volume of gross output. But the conceptual equivalent for financial intermediation is not clear.
Our collective efforts, along with developments in information technology and risk management techniques, have already contributed to improved market stability. The growing, and successful, commitment of central banks to the achievement of price stability as BIS Review 60/1997  -7-  their primary goal is another crucial and positive contribution toward market stability. Moreover, where we as central banks see gaps that develop in the global financial system, as we did in the areas of market risk and settlement risk management, we play the role of facilitator to private sector solutions. As central bankers, we tend to view our role in the global financial markets as ensuring that the necessary infrastructure is in place to promote well-functioning markets for all players. Then we step aside and let the markets take care of themselves. BIS Review 60/1997