According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector retreated slightly in the first quarter of 2015. At end-March 2015, the share of international assets in total banking assets fell to 85.9% from 86.0% at end-2014, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities dropped to 81.1% from 81.6%.
Non-local currencies continued to be the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-March 2015, the shares of the pataca in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.7% and 2.0% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar, US Dollar, the renminbi and other foreign currencies accounted for 39.6%, 37.1%, 15.8% and 6.8% of total international assets as well as 44.8%, 33.7%, 13.1% and 6.4% of total international liabilities respectively.
International Banking Assets
At end-March 2015, total international assets advanced by 2.6% from a quarter ago and by 11.3% from a year earlier to MOP1,036.1 billion (USD129.7 billion). Within this total, external assets increased by 6.9% year-on-year to MOP762.7 billion while local assets in foreign currencies jumped by 25.7% to MOP273.4 billion. As a major component of international assets, external non-bank loans grew by 19.8% to MOP354.6 billion.
International Banking Liabilities
Total international liabilities increased by 2.2% from three months ago and by 11.3% year-on-year to MOP979.0 billion (USD122.6 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies expanded year-on-year by 14.4% to MOP515.1 billion and 8.0% to MOP463.9 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 6.2% to MOP424.2 billion at end-March 2015 from MOP399.5 billion at end-March 2014.
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-March 2015, claims on Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China and Singapore occupied 34.8%, 30.8% and 1.9% of total external assets correspondingly, while claims on Portugal, Germany and the United Kingdom took up 5.1%, 2.8% and 1.8% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China and Thailand accounted for 46.2%, 22.1% and 7.4% of the total respectively while France, Portugal and Germany took up respective shares of 2.5%, 1.9% and 1.3%.
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.
