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 2016. At end-September 2016, the share of international assets in total banking assets fell to 84.3% from 84.9% at end-June 2016, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities declined to 79.1% from 80.4%. Non-local currencies continued to be the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-September 2016, the shares of the pataca in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.8% and 1.7% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar, US Dollar, the renminbi and other foreign currencies accounted for 43.2%, 41.6%, 8.0% and 6.5% of total international assets as well as 50.2%, 38.2%, 6.6% and 3.3% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets At end-September 2016, total international assets dropped mildly by 1.4% from a quarter ago and by 4.0% from a year earlier to MOP1,151.3 billion (USD144.1 billion). Within this total, external assets declined by 6.5% year-on-year to MOP840.7 billion while local assets in foreign currencies went up by 3.5% to MOP310.5 billion. As a major component of international assets, external non-bank loans fell by 5.4% to MOP367.4 billion. International Banking Liabilities Total international liabilities decreased by 2.3% from three months ago and by 5.7% year-on-year to MOP1,080.8 billion (USD135.3 billion). Of this total, external liabilities fell year-on-year by 16.2% to MOP563.4 billion whereas local liabilities in foreign currencies grew by 9.3% to MOP517.4 billion. Foreign currency deposits held by residents and the MSAR government in local banks continued to form a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 6.2% to MOP463.6 billion at end-September 2016 from MOP436.7 billion at end-September 2015. Breakdown of External Banking Assets and Liabilities by Region The majority of external assets and liabilities were related to Asia and Europe. At end-September 2016, claims on Hong Kong SAR and Mainland China occupied 35.9% and 23.2% of total external assets, while claims on Portugal and Germany took up 2.7% and 2.3% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong SAR and Mainland China accounted for 51.5% and 21.4% of the total respectively, while Portugal and France took up 0.8% and 0.7% respectively. Portuguese-speaking countries represented 2.7% and 1.1% of total external assets and liabilities respectively. 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.
