According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector dropped slightly in the third quarter of 2011. At end-September 2011, the share of international assets in total banking assets decreased to 86.1% from 86.9% at end-June 2011, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities also dropped marginally to 80.3% from 80.4%. Foreign currencies remained as the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-September 2011, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.3% and 3.5% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 41.2% and 58.5% of total international assets as well as 44.0% and 52.5% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-September 2011, total international assets dropped marginally by 0.3% from three months earlier but grew by 21.7% year-on-year to MOP538.0 billion (USD67.0 billion). Within this total, external assets and local assets in foreign currencies expanded by 14.7% and 48.9% from a year earlier to MOP403.6 billion and MOP134.3 billion respectively. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits decreased by 2.6% quarter-to-quarter but increased year-on-year by 17.0% to MOP378.5 billion. In particular, loans to overseas non-bank customers fell notably by 6.7% from the previous quarter. International Banking Liabilities
Meanwhile, total international liabilities edged up by 0.5% quarter-to-quarter or 25.6% from a year earlier to MOP501.7 billion (USD62.5 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies grew year-on-year by 27.2% and 23.8% to MOP269.5 billion and MOP232.2 billion respectively. Foreign currency deposits held by residents continued to form a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 22.9% to MOP217.0 billion at end-September 2011 from MOP176.6 billion a year earlier. Overseas interbank liabilities, on the other hand, fell by 4.6% from the previous quarter. 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-September 2011, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied respectively 37.5% and 19.2% of total external assets, while claims on Portugal and Luxembourg took up 11.7% and 1.6% correspondingly. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied 44.1% and 20.8% of the total respectively while France and Portugal took up respective shares of 6.2% and 5.3%. 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. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao
(Tel：83952532; Fax：28353042)
