According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector rebounded slightly in the second quarter of 2016. At end-June 2016, the share of international assets in total banking assets advanced to 84.9% from 84.6% at end-March 2016, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities expanded to 80.4% from 80.0%. Non-local currencies continued to be the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-June 2016, the shares of the pataca in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.9% and 1.7% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar, US Dollar, the renminbi and other foreign currencies accounted for 42.4%, 41.2%, 10.0% and 5.5% of total international assets as well as 49.6%, 35.5%, 9.0% and 4.2% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets At end-June 2016, total international assets grew by 3.5% from a quarter ago but dropped mildly by 0.8% from a year earlier to MOP1,167.7 billion (USD146.1 billion). Within this total, external assets declined by 2.5% year-on-year to MOP862.5 billion while local assets in foreign currencies went up by 4.3% to MOP305.2 billion. As a major component of international assets, external interbank loans retreated by 3.5% to MOP394.9 billion. International Banking Liabilities Total international liabilities expanded by 3.8% from three months ago but decreased by 2.0% year-on-year to MOP1,106.5 billion (USD138.5 billion). Of this total, external liabilities fell year-on-year by 5.9% to MOP606.8 billion whereas local liabilities in foreign currencies grew by 3.2% to MOP499.7 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, nevertheless, edged down by 0.3% to MOP445.6 billion at end-June 2016 from MOP446.7 billion at end-June 2015. Breakdown of External Banking Assets and Liabilities by Region The majority of external assets and liabilities were related to Asia, America and Europe. At end-June 2016, claims on Hong Kong SAR and Mainland China occupied 37.7% and 22.5% of total external assets, the share of the United States stood at 8.0% while claims on Portugal and the United Kingdom took up 2.8% and 2.2% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong SAR and Mainland China accounted for 52.5% and 18.1% of the total respectively, the United States represented 3.0% while France and Portugal took up 1.0% and 0.8% respectively. Portuguese-speaking countries represented 3.0% 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.
