BIRD Steering Group and Expert Group

Steering Group

The BIRD Steering Group (BIRD SG) is the governing body of the BIRD and guides the project’s development, decides on its priorities, and assesses its objectives, resources, and workflows.

The BIRD SG consists of representatives of the banking industry, the national central banks, and European authorities, who in turn inform their representatives in the Banking Industry Dialogue on ESCB statistics about BIRD activities. The BIRD SG has two co-chairs: Mr Massimo Casa (representing the ESCB) and Mr Marc Ziegler (representing the banking industry).

The BIRD SG oversees the BIRD Expert Group (BIRD EG), an operational group made up of experts in data modelling and reporting frameworks from the banking industry, national central banks, and the ECB. The role of these experts is to develop and maintain the BIRD methodology, content, and documentation.

The BIRD SG and EG are supported by regular cooperation with external companies with expertise in fields relevant to the BIRD.

More information about the responsibilities of the BIRD SG can be found in the Charter of the Steering Group of the Banks’ Integrated Reporting Dictionary.

Minutes of the inaugural meeting in April 2018

Summary of the meeting in December 2018

Summary of the meeting in October 2019

Action points of the meeting in October 2020

Welcome address of the meeting in October 2020 by Werner Bier

Action points of the meeting in November 2021

Work plan

Every year the BIRD SG approves the BIRD work plan, which describes the activities the BIRD EG has planned for the upcoming years. Subject to BIRD internal developments and external factors, changes to the BIRD work plan are suggested by the BIRD EG and approved by the BIRD SG.

In 2020 and 2021 the BIRD work plan has been focused on developing the activities of the work streams to ensure the BIRD model is stable and its definitions correct before continuing with the integration of new reporting frameworks. The BIRD SG has assessed the progress made so far and has discussed changes to the BIRD’s scope and objectives to make it a viable product.

The relaunch of the BIRD project is reflected in the work plan for 2022, which summarises the new developments.

BIRD work plan 2022

Previous work plans

BIRD work plan 2019-2021

BIRD work plan 2018-2020

Expert Group

The BIRD Expert Group (BIRD EG) is the operational body of the BIRD project and is responsible for fulfilling the objectives set by the BIRD SG. The BIRD EG comprises representatives of the banking industry and the ESCB who have expertise in reporting requirements and data modelling. The BIRD EG has had around 130 members from participating parties.

Members of the BIRD EG contribute to the subgroups and work streams, in accordance with the work plan established by the BIRD SG. Each subgroup and work stream has a clear mandate and contributes to expanding the content of the BIRD documentation and to improving its methodology.

Subgroups

Subgroups are normally temporary in nature and focus on integrating a specific reporting framework (or part of it) into the BIRD documentation. Their activity is therefore business-driven; it involves examining the regulation and business logic behind regulatory reporting requirements and determining how this should be integrated into the BIRD, in line with the BIRD methodology.

Work Streams

The Work Stream on Data Modelling (WS DM) and the Work Stream on Testing (WS T) act as operational and advice-giving bodies. They comprise representatives of the banking industry, the ESCB, and external companies.

They cover broader and more technical aspects of the project, such as building and maintaining an efficient and redundancy-free data model and performing testing activities. They ensure the consistency and integrity of the BIRD components and process from both a technical and business perspective. They work in parallel on different but related topics and closely collaborate with subgroups to contribute to the progress of the activities.

The main activities of the work streams focus on defining and integrating a Logical Data Model (LDM) into the BIRD process, harmonising the BIRD layers modelling approach, and defining best practice design principles. Work streams also coordinate activities to test and improve the capability of the BIRD to produce reporting requirements; the BIRD components and process are tested in multiple ways, e.g. by means of prototypes and test case executions which are developed by the external companies. The work streams are also involved in ad-hoc consultations on BIRD-related matters.

The different work streams can hold meetings independently of the BIRD subgroups’ meetings. The coordinators of the work streams regularly inform the BIRD EG about the progress of their work during the plenary meetings.

BIRD Member Institutions

The table below shows the institutions that are currently actively involved in the BIRD project.

Commercial banks

National Central Banks

European Institutions

* BIRD Steering Group member only

** BIRD Expert Group member only

*** BIRD Co-secretariat

Cooperation with external companies

The BIRD project aims to foster cooperation in the field of regulatory reporting. That’s why cooperation with parties beyond the banking industry which are involved in the chain of the bank reporting process (e.g. software vendors and consulting companies) is also key. External companies can contribute to the development of the BIRD on a voluntary basis by sharing their knowledge and expertise with BIRD experts and by getting involved in other operational tasks.

For more details, please see the page on the BIRD call for interest.