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 first quarter of 2016. At end-March 2016, the share of international assets in total banking assets fell to 84.6% from 84.9% at end-2015, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities declined to 80.2% from 80.5%. Non-local currencies continued to be the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-March 2016, the shares of the pataca in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.8% and 2.6% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar, US Dollar, the renminbi and other foreign currencies accounted for 41.7%, 38.8%, 12.4% and 6.3% of total international assets as well as 47.1%, 34.9%, 10.8% and 4.6% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets At end-March 2016, total international assets dropped mildly by 0.9% from a quarter ago but increased by 8.9% from a year earlier to MOP1,128.3 billion (USD141.3 billion). Within this total, external assets increased by 9.1% year-on-year to MOP832.1 billion while local assets in foreign currencies went up by 8.4% to MOP296.2 billion. As a major component of international assets, external interbank loans grew by 10.2% to MOP372.9 billion. International Banking Liabilities Total international liabilities decreased marginally by 0.9% from three months ago but advanced by 9.2% year-on-year to MOP1,069.0 billion (USD133.9 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies expanded year-on-year by 14.5% to MOP589.8 billion and 3.3% to MOP479.2 billion respectively. 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 2.0% to MOP432.7 billion at end-March 2016 from MOP424.2 billion at end-March 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-March 2016, claims on Hong Kong SAR and Mainland China occupied 40.4% and 22.4% of total external assets, while claims on Portugal and the United Kingdom took up 3.2% and 2.1% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong SAR and Mainland China accounted for 50.8% and 17.1% of the total respectively while France and Portugal took up 1.0% and 0.9% respectively. Portuguese-speaking countries represented 3.4% 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.
