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 fourth quarter of 2014. At end-2014, the share of international assets in total banking assets fell to 86.0% from 86.5% at end-September 2014, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities dropped to 81.6% from 82.1%. Non-local currencies continued to be the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-2014, the shares of the pataca in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.7% and 1.6% respectively. Hong Kong dollar, US dollar, the renminbi and other foreign currencies accounted for 38.8%, 35.7%, 18.2% and 6.6% of total international assets as well as 44.9%, 32.6%, 15.9% and 5.0% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-2014, total international assets advanced marginally by 0.1% from a quarter ago and by 19.6% from a year earlier to MOP1,009.8 billion (USD126.4 billion). Within this total, external assets increased by 14.8% year-on-year to MOP749.8 billion while local assets in foreign currencies jumped by 35.9% to MOP260.0 billion. As a major component of international assets, external non-bank loans grew by 26.4% to MOP350.6 billion. International Banking Liabilities
Total international liabilities decreased slightly by 0.02% from three months ago but increased by 19.8% year-on-year to MOP957.8 billion (USD119.9 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies expanded year-on-year by 25.2% to MOP495.4 billion and 14.4% to MOP462.4 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 13.3% to MOP425.9 billion at end-2014 from MOP375.8 billion at end-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-2014, claims on Hong Kong, Mainland China and Singapore occupied 33.3%, 33.1% and 1.8% of total external assets correspondingly, while claims on Portugal, the United Kingdom and Luxembourg took up 6.0%, 1.5% and 1.1% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Thailand accounted for 43.2%, 25.8% and 7.3% of the total respectively while France, Portugal and Germany took up respective shares of 3.1%, 2.1% and 1.5%. 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.
