According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector further advanced in the second quarter of 2014. At end-June 2014, the share of international assets in total banking assets climbed to 87.2% from 86.8% at end-March 2014, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities grew to 82.8% from 82.1%. Foreign currencies were the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-June 2014, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.8% and 1.5% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 35.7% and 63.6% of total international assets as well as 41.0% and 57.5% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-June 2014, total international assets advanced by 9.5% from a quarter ago or 32.9% from a year earlier to MOP1,018.9 billion (USD127.6 billion). Within this total, external assets increased by 29.3% year-on-year to MOP779.6 billion while local assets in foreign currencies jumped by 46.2% to MOP239.3 billion. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits grew by 28.3% to MOP719.7 billion. International Banking Liabilities
Total international liabilities increased by 10.1% from three months ago or 31.9% year-on-year to MOP968.4 billion (USD121.3 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies expanded year-on-year by 31.6% to MOP504.5 billion and 32.2% to MOP463.9 billion respectively. Foreign currency deposits held by residents and the MSAR government continued to form a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 29.1% to MOP425.0 billion at end-June 2014 from MOP329.3 billion at end-June 2013. 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 2014, claims on Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore occupied 37.6%, 29.6% and 1.9% of total external assets correspondingly, while claims on Portugal, Luxembourg and Germany took up 7.3%, 1.5% and 1.0% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Thailand accounted for 39.9%, 25.1% and 8.4% of the total respectively while France, Portugal and Germany took up respective shares of 3.6%, 3.4% and 2.3%. 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.
