Net private aid is private transactions broken down into direct investment, portfolio investment and export credits (net). Private transactions are those undertaken by firms and individuals resident in the reporting country. Portfolio investment corresponds to bonds and equities. Inflows into emerging countries’ stocks markets, are, however, heavily understated. Accordingly, the coverage of portfolio investment differs in these regards from the coverage of bank claims, which include indistinguishably export credit lending by banks. The bank claims data represent the net change in banks’ claims after adjustment to eliminate the effect of changes in exchange rates. They are therefore a proxy for net flow data, but are not themselves a net flow figure. They differ in two further regards from other OECD data. First, they relate to loans by banks resident in countries which report quarterly to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Secondly, no adjustment has been made to exclude short-term claims.