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 2011. At end-2011, the share of international assets in total banking assets decreased to 84.8% from 86.1% at end-September 2011, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities also dropped to 79.7% from 80.3%.

Foreign currencies remained as the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-2011, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.4% and 3.1% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 42.5% and 57.1% of total international assets as well as 44.3% and 52.5% of total international liabilities respectively.

International Banking Assets

At end-2011, total international assets grew by 3.6% from a quarter ago or 20.1% from a year earlier to MOP557.2 billion (USD69.6 billion). Within this total, external assets and local assets in foreign currencies expanded year-on-year by 16.7% to MOP422.3 billion and 31.9% to MOP134.9 billion respectively. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits increased by 16.6% to MOP392.7 billion. In particular, loans to overseas non-bank customers expanded by 33.9%.

International Banking Liabilities

Total international liabilities went up by 4.4% from three months ago or 23.3% from one year earlier to MOP523.8 billion (USD65.4 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies grew year-on-year by 22.4% to MOP279.6 billion and 24.5% to MOP244.2 billion respectively. Foreign currency deposits held by residents continued to form a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 26.3% to MOP231.2 billion at end-2011 from MOP183.1 billion at end-2010. Concurrently, overseas interbank liabilities increased by 24.5%.

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-2011, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied 38.4% and 18.1% of total external assets respectively, while claims on Portugal and the United Kingdom took up 12.9% and 3.9% correspondingly. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied 41.7% and 20.3% of the total respectively while Portugal and France took up respective shares of 7.5% and 5.7%.

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.

For enquiry, please contact:

Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao

(Tel：83952532; Fax：28353042)