Overview of offshore banking units (July 2007)
PRESS RELEASE Release Date: September 7, 2007
Overview of offshore banking units (July 2007)
At the end of July 2007, there were 65 offshore banking units(OBUs) including 38 domestic banks and 27 foreign banks. The combined assets of all OBUs amounted to US$84.410 billion at the end of July 2007, a new record, and an increase of US$14.991 billion or 21.59% compared to the same period of the previous year. Domestic bank OBUs accounted for US$64.704 billion or 77% of these combined assets, and foreign bank OBUs accounted for US$19.706 billion or 23% of the total.
The turnover of foreign exchange trading by all OBUs in July 2007 was US$9.129 billion consisting of (1) spot transactions for US$5.523 billion, (2) outright forwards for US$1.861 billion, and (3) foreign exchange swaps for US$1.745 billion.
Based on balance sheet analysis, the OBUs main sources of funds were due to related offices and deposits by financial institutions, which accounted for 61% of total liabilities including (1) due to related offices for 52%, (2) deposits by financial institutions situated locally for 5%, (3) inter-OBU deposits for 2%, and (4) deposits by financial institutions located overseas for 2%. 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 9%. In terms of the area of origin, Asia accounted for 68%, followed by America for 21%, Europe for 9%, and other areas for 2%.
The main uses for funds were due from related offices and deposits with financial institutions, which accounted for 52% of total assets including (1) due from related offices for 28%, (2) deposits overseas for 19%, (3) deposits with other domestic financial institutions for 3 %, (4) deposits with domestic OBUs for 2%. The other uses of funds included (1) loans for 26%, (2) security investments for 15%, and (3) other assets for 7%. Asia was the main destination for funds, accounting for 55%, followed by America for 26%, Europe for 17%, and other areas for 2%.
The total value of all outstanding loans made by OBUs at the end of July 2007 was US$22.285 billion, of which 96% was extended to overseas clients, including long-term loans for US$13.155 billion and short-term loans for US$8.212 billion. The remaining 4% was extended to local clients for US$918 million.
The volume of export related banking business of all OBUs in July 2007 was US$17.810 billion including (1) export collection, export remittance, and accounts receivable factoring for US$16.137 billion, and (2) export negotiation for US$1.673 billion. The volume of import related banking business of all OBUs was US$17.461 billion.
The turnover of other derivative products trading by all OBUs in July 2007 was US$26.906 billion including (1) financial futures for US$14.565 billion, (2) options for US$10.628 billion, (3) credit derivatives for US$1.009 billion (4) margin account trading for US$407 million, (5) foreign currency interest rate swaps for US$277 million, (6) commodity swaps for US$16 million, (7) cross currency swaps (not involving the NT dollar) for US$2 million, and (8) equity swaps for US$2 million.
Note: The next dissemination will be made at 16:20 p.m. on October 9, 2007.