Overview of offshore banking units (December 2005)
PRESS RELEASE Release Date: February 13, 2006
Overview of offshore banking units (December 2005)
At the end of December 2005, there were 70 offshore banking units (OBUs) including 41 domestic banks and 29 foreign banks. The combined assets of all OBUs amounted to US$70.158 billion at the end of December 2005, an increase of US$939 million or 1.36%. This was mainly due to the increase of US$ 2.167 billion in deposit with financial institutions and US$1.981 billion in security investments, but a decrease of US$3.073 billion in other assets caused by changes in the accounting method of US Dollar-Renminbi non-deliverable forwards and margin trading. Domestic bank OBUs accounted for US$50.520 billion or 72% of these combined assets; and foreign bank OBUs accounted for US$19.638 billion or 28% of the total.
Based on balance sheet analysis, the OBUs main sources of funds were due to related offices and deposits by financial institutions, which accounted for 63% of total liabilities, including (1) due to related offices for 50%, (2) deposits by local financial institutions for 7%, (3) deposits by overseas financial institutions for 3%, and (4) inter-OBU deposits for 3%. The other sources of funds included deposits by non-financial institutions, accounting for 30% of total liabilities, and other liabilities plus the equity of head office for 7%. In terms of the area of origin, Asia accounted for 67%, followed by America for 21%, Europe for 7%, and other areas for 5%.
The main uses for funds were due from related offices and deposits with financial institutions, which accounted for 54% of total assets, including (1) due from related offices for 35%, (2) deposits overseas for 13%, (3) deposits with domestic OBUs for 3%, and (4) deposits with other domestic financial institutions for 3%. The other uses of funds included (1) loans for 27%, (2) security investments for 13%, and (3) other assets for 6%. Asia was the main destination for funds, accounting for 62%, followed by America for 23%, Europe for 12%, and other areas for 3%.
The total value of all outstanding loans made by OBUs at the end of December 2005 was US$18.612 billion, of which 90% was extended to overseas clients, including long-term loans for US$9.699 billion and short-term loans for US$7.067 billion. The remaining 10% was extended to local clients for US$1.846 billion.
The volume of export related banking business of all OBUs in December 2005 was US$14.210 billion including (1) export collection, export remittance, and accounts receivable factoring for US$12.912 billion, and (2) export negotiation for US$1.298 billion. The volume of import related banking business of all OBUs was US$13.561 billion.
The turnover of foreign exchange trading by all OBUs in December 2005 was US$9.908 billion, consisting of (1) spot transactions for US$6.495 billion, (2) foreign exchange swaps for US$ 2.223 billion, and (3) outright forwards for US$1.190 billion.
The turnover of other derivative products trading by all OBUs in December 2005 was US$9.657 billion, including (1) options for US$6.358 billion, (2) financial futures for US$2.735 billion, (3) foreign currency interest rate swaps for US$443 million, (4) margin account trading for US$116 million, and (5) credit derivatives for US$5 million.
Note: The next dissemination will be made at 16:20 p.m. on March 10, 2006.