According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector increased further during the third quarter of 2009. At end-September 2009, the share of international assets in total banking assets grew to 85.0% from 82.9% at end-June 2009, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities rose to 78.4% from 77.6%. Foreign currencies remained as the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-September 2009, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.5% and 1.0% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 46.1% and 53.3% of total international assets and 47.2% and 51.7% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-September 2009, total international assets increased 8.9% quarter-to-quarter and 12.0% year-on-year to MOP363.7 billion (USD45.6 billion). Within this total, external assets rose year-on-year by 16.1% to MOP283.9 billion while local assets in foreign currencies shrank marginally by 0.3% to MOP79.9 billion. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits expanded 14.5% over a year earlier to MOP254.5 billion, mainly attributable to the 17.6% increase of cross-border interbank assets. International Banking Liabilities
Meanwhile, total international liabilities increased by 7.3% quarter-to-quarter and 10.6% year-on-year to MOP335.5 billion (USD42.0 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies amounted to MOP172.8 billion and MOP162.7 billion in respective order. Compared with a year earlier, the former grew by 12.0% while the latter rose 9.3%. Foreign currency deposits held by residents in the local banking system formed a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 9.0% to MOP155.0 billion from MOP142.3 billion at end-September 2008. 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 2009, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied respectively 36.6% and 6.3% of total external assets, while claims on Portugal, the UK and France took up respective shares of 14.1%, 2.0% and 2.0%. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and China occupied 40.6% and 23.3% of the total while France, Portugal and Germany took up respective shares of 11.0%, 6.6% and 1.8%. The compilation of International Banking Statistics follows the methodology advocated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in order to facilitate Macao SAR’s participation in the “Locational International Banking Statistics” project of the BIS.
