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 fourth quarter of 2016. At end-December 2016, the share of international assets in total banking assets fell to 84.1% from 84.2% at end-September 2016, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities declined to 78.7% from 79.0%.
Non-local currencies continued to be the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-December 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, Renminbi and other foreign currencies accounted for 45.5%, 42.7%, 6.4% and 4.6% of total international assets as well as 53.4%, 35.8%, 5.2% and 3.7% of total international liabilities respectively.
International Banking Assets
At end-December 2016, total international assets increased mildly by 1.6% from a quarter ago and by 2.7% from a year earlier to MOP1,170.0 billion (USD146.5 billion). Within this total, external assets declined by 2.2% year-on-year to MOP822.7 billion while local assets in foreign currencies went up by 16.8% to MOP347.3 billion. As a major component of international assets, external non-bank loans fell by 2.7% to MOP361.7 billion.
International Banking Liabilities
Total international liabilities rose by 1.2% from three months ago and by 1.4% year-on-year to MOP1,094.0 billion (USD137.0 billion). Of this total, external liabilities fell year-on-year by 16.5% to MOP509.8 billion whereas local liabilities in foreign currencies grew by 24.9% to MOP584.2 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 17.9% to MOP497.5 billion at end-December 2016 from MOP422.1 billion at end-December 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-December 2016, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied 38.6% and 26.0% of total external assets, while claims on the United Kingdom and Portugal took up 2.9% and 2.7% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and Mainland China accounted for 52.6% and 20.2% of the total respectively, while Portugal and France each took up 0.8%. 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.