According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector remained high during the first quarter of 2010. At end-March 2010, the share of international assets in total banking assets fell to 84.1% from 84.8% at end-2009, whereas the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities rose to 78.0% from 77.5%. Foreign currencies remained as the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-March 2010, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.5% and 1.9% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 45.9% and 53.7% of total international assets as well as 47.8% and 50.4% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-March 2010, total international assets increased by 2.7% from three months earlier or 19.7% year-on-year to MOP371.8 billion (USD46.5 billion). Within this total, external assets jumped by 25.6% to MOP291.7 billion in a year while local assets in foreign currencies rose slightly by 2.0% to MOP80.1 billion. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits jumped by 26.7% over a year earlier to MOP266.1 billion, mainly attributable to the 84.4% increase of loans to overseas non-bank borrowers. International Banking Liabilities
Meanwhile, total international liabilities expanded by 4.2% from three months ago or 19.6% from a year earlier to MOP344.7 billion (USD43.1 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies amounted to MOP175.6 billion and MOP169.1 billion in respective order. Compared with a year earlier, the former soared by 30.6% while the latter increased by 9.9%. Foreign currency deposits held by residents in the local banking system formed a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 10.6% to MOP161.6 billion at end-March 2010 from MOP146.1 billion a year earlier. Breakdown of External Banking Assets and Liabilities by Region
The majority of external assets and liabilities were related to the regions of Asia and Europe. At end-March 2010, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied respectively 38.5% and 10.6% of total external assets, while claims on Portugal and the UK took up respective shares of 13.0% and 4.0%. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and China occupied 44.1% and 18.4% of the total respectively while France and Portugal took up respective shares of 9.4% and 7.4%. The compilation of International Banking Statistics follows the methodology advocated by the Bank for International Settlements in order to facilitate Macao SAR’s participation in the “Locational International Banking Statistics” project of the international organisation.
