Overview of offshore banking units (April 2010)
PRESS RELEASE Release Date: June 3, 2010
Overview of offshore banking units (April 2010)
At the end of April 2010, there were 61 offshore banking units (OBUs) including 35 domestic banks and 26 foreign banks. The combined assets of all OBUs amounted to US$106.866 billion at the end of April 2010, an increase of US$5.426 billion or 5.35% compared to the same period of the previous year. Domestic bank OBUs accounted for US$83.365 billion or 78% of these combined assets, and foreign bank OBUs accounted for US$23.501 billion or 22% of the total.
The turnover of foreign exchange trading by all OBUs in April 2010 was US$17.522 billion consisting of (1) spot transactions for US$9.559 billion, (2) outright forwards for US$5.329 billion, and (3) foreign exchange swaps for US$2.634 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 62% of total liabilities including (1) deposits by financial institutions situated locally for 4%, (2) deposits by financial institutions located overseas for 2%, (3) inter-OBU deposits for 9%, and (4) due to related offices for 47%. 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 8%. In terms of the area of origin, Asia accounted for 74%, followed by America for 20%, Europe for 4%, and other areas for 2%.
The main uses for funds were due from related offices and deposits with financial institutions, which accounted for 48% of total assets including (1) deposits with other domestic financial institutions for 2%, (2) deposits overseas for 11%, (3) deposits with domestic OBUs for 9%, and (4) due from related offices for 26%. The other uses of funds included (1) loans for 31%, (2) security investments for 14%, and (3) other assets for 7%. Asia was the main destination for funds, accounting for 59%, followed by America for 27%, Europe for 11%, and other areas for 3%.
The total value of all outstanding loans made by OBUs at the end of April 2010 was US$33.462 billion, of which 98% was extended to overseas clients, including long-term loans for US$20.505 billion and short-term loans for US$12.245 billion. The remaining 2% was extended to local clients for US$712 million.
The volume of export related banking business of all OBUs in April 2010 was US$25.201 billion including (1) export collection, export remittance, and accounts receivable factoring for US$23.928 billion and (2) export negotiation for US$1.273 billion. The volume of import related banking business of all OBUs was US$25.412 billion.
The turnover of other derivative products trading by all OBUs in April 2010 was US$37.520 billion including (1) financial futures for US$26.438 billion, (2) options for US$9.511 billion, (3) credit derivatives for US$1.185 billion, (4) interest rate swaps for US$233 million, (5) margin account trading for US$115 million, (6) commodity forward contracts for US$33 million, and (7) commodity swaps for US$5 million.
Note: The next dissemination will be made at 16:20 p.m. on July 2, 2010.