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 third quarter of 2010. At end-September 2010, the share of international assets in total banking assets rose to 85.4% from 84.8% at end-June 2010, whereas the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities dropped to 77.1% from 78.1%. Foreign currencies remained as the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-September 2010, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.4% and 1.0% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 44.2% and 55.4% of total international assets as well as 51.5% and 47.4% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-September 2010, total international assets increased by 13.6% from three months earlier or 21.5% year-on-year to MOP442.0 billion (USD55.3 billion). Within this total, external assets expanded by 23.9% to MOP351.8 billion in a year while local assets in foreign currencies rose by 13.0% to MOP90.2 billion. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits jumped by 27.2% over a year earlier to MOP323.6 billion, mainly attributable to the 53.1% increase of loans to overseas non-bank borrowers. International Banking Liabilities
Meanwhile, total international liabilities expanded by 11.3% quarter-to-quarter or 19.0% from a year earlier to MOP399.4 billion (USD50.0 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies amounted to MOP211.8 billion and MOP187.6 billion in respective order. Compared with a year earlier, the former soared by 22.6% while the latter increased by 15.3%. Foreign currency deposits held by residents in the local banking system formed a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 13.9% to MOP176.6 billion at end-September 2010 from MOP155.1 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-September 2010, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied respectively 38.2% and 11.5% of total external assets, while claims on Portugal and the UK took up respective shares of 12.3% and 2.2%. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and China occupied 45.0% and 22.5% of the total respectively while France and Portugal took up respective shares of 9.1% and 7.2%. 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.
