According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector contracted slightly in the second quarter of 2012. At end-June 2012, the share of international assets in total banking assets dropped to 83.3% from 84.1% at end-March 2012, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities shrank to 80.2% from 80.8%. Foreign currencies were the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-June 2012, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.4% and 1.7% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 37.5% and 62.2% of total international assets as well as 45.2% and 53.0% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-June 2012, total international assets went up by 2.1% from a quarter earlier or 13.2% from a year ago to MOP610.9 billion (USD76.4 billion). Within this total, external assets and local assets in foreign currencies expanded year-on-year by 13.6% to MOP467.3 billion and 11.9% to MOP143.6 billion respectively. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits increased by 12.5% to MOP437.0 billion. In particular, cross-border non-bank loans expanded by 27.1%. International Banking Liabilities
Total international liabilities advanced by 2.4% from three months ago or 17.8% year-on-year to MOP587.9 billion (USD73.6 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies grew year-on-year by 14.8% to MOP316.3 billion and 21.5% to MOP271.6 billion respectively. Foreign currency deposits held by residents continued to form a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 20.5% to MOP250.0 billion at end-June 2012 from MOP207.5 billion at end-June 2011. Concurrently, overseas non-bank deposits increased by 36.6%. 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-June 2012, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied 33.7% and 27.1% of total external assets respectively, while claims on Portugal and Luxembourg took up 10.3% and 2.6% correspondingly. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and Japan accounted for 43.5% and 12.5% of the total respectively while France and Portugal took up respective shares of 5.0% and 2.5%. 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.
