According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector decreased marginally during the fourth quarter of 2009. At end-December 2009, the share of international assets in total banking assets fell to 84.8% from 85.0% at end-September 2009, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities dropped to 77.5% from 78.4%. Foreign currencies remained as the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-2009, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.5% and 1.2% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 47.7% and 51.8% of total international assets as well as 49.2% and 49.6% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-2009, total international assets edged down by 0.4% from three months earlier but increased by 21.1% over a year ago to MOP362.1 billion (USD45.3 billion). Within this total, external assets jumped by 28.1% to MOP282.5 billion in a year while local assets in foreign currencies rose slightly by 1.7% to MOP79.7 billion. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits expanded markedly by 29.6% over a year earlier to MOP254.9 billion, mainly attributable to the 22.8% increase in cross-border interbank assets. International Banking Liabilities
Meanwhile, total international liabilities retreated marginally by 1.4% from three months ago but expanded by 21.0% from a year earlier to MOP330.8 billion (USD41.4 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies amounted to MOP166.0 billion and MOP164.9 billion in respective order. Compared with a year earlier, the former soared by 31.0% while the latter increased by 12.3%. Foreign currency deposits held by residents in the local banking system formed a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 12.6% to MOP157.9 billion at end-2009 from MOP140.2 billion at end-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-2009, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied respectively 37.9% and 6.3% of total external assets, while claims on Portugal and the UK took up respective shares of 14.8% and 2.4%. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and China occupied 37.0% and 22.1% of the total respectively while France and Portugal took up respective shares of 10.9% and 9.6%. 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.
