1.1.Financial institutions other than credit institutions which issue financial instruments that are considered close substitutes for deposits are classified as MFIs provided that they meet the MFI definition in other respects. The classification is based on the criteria of substitutability of deposits (i.e. whether liabilities are classified as deposits) which is determined by their liquidity, combining characteristics of transferability, convertibility, certainty and marketability, and having regard, where appropriate, to their term of issue.
These criteria for the substitutability of deposits are also applied to determine whether liabilities should be classified as deposits, unless there is a separate category for such liabilities.