ECB's Target Annual Report 2005

TARGET is the most important large-value payment system in the euro area. Some 10,400 banks use it to initiate payments and more than 52,750 banks - including branches and subsidiaries - are accessible through it worldwide (and thus all the customers of these banks). In 2005 TARGET traffic increased by 10% in comparison with the previous year in both value and volume terms. Around 296,300 payments with a value of EUR 1.9 trillion were transferred on average per business day (after 267,000 payments with a value of EUR 1.7 trillion in 2004). This represents a share in overall large-value payments made in euro of 89% in terms of value (after 88% in 2004) and 59% in terms of volume (58% in 2004).

Owing to TARGET's pivotal role in maintaining financial stability in the European Union, the Eurosystem pays very close attention to the reliability and safety of TARGET. As a result, in 2005 the availability rate improved further to 99.83% (from 99.81% in 2004).

The TARGET Annual Report provides information on TARGET payment business and the system's robustness, resiliency and oversight. In addition, it describes the major developments affecting the TARGET system.

Click here to read the Annual Report