Overview of offshore banking units (December 2010)
PRESS RELEASE Release Date: Feb. 8, 2011
Overview of offshore banking units (December 2010)
At the end of December 2010, there were 61 offshore banking units (OBUs) including 36 domestic banks and 25 foreign banks. The combined assets of all OBUs amounted to US$122.930 billion at the end of December 2010, an increase of US$27.879 billion or 29.33% compared to the same period of the previous year. Domestic bank OBUs accounted for US$97.660 billion or 79% of these combined assets, and foreign bank OBUs accounted for US$25.270 billion or 21% of the total.
The turnover of foreign exchange trading by all OBUs in December 2010 was US$15.162 billion consisting of: (1) spot transactions for US$8.051 billion, (2) outright forwards for US$3.166 billion, and (3) foreign exchange swaps for US$3.945 billion.
Based on balance sheet analysis, the OBUs main sources of funds were due to related offices and deposits by financial institutions, which together accounted for 61% of total liabilities, including: (1) deposits by financial institutions situated locally for 3%, (2) deposits by financial institutions located overseas for 4%, (3) inter-OBU deposits for 10%, and (4) due to related offices for 44%. The other sources of funds included: (1) deposits by non-financial institutions accounting for 29% of total liabilities, and (2) other liabilities plus the equity of head office for 10%. In terms of the area of origin, Asia accounted for 71%, followed by America for 22%, Europe for 5%, and other areas for 2%.
The main uses for funds were due from related offices and deposits with financial institutions, which together accounted for 45% of total assets, including: (1) deposits with domestic financial institutions for 2%, (2) deposits overseas for 5%, (3) deposits with other OBUs for 10%, and (4) due from related offices for 28%. The other uses of funds included: (1) loans for 34%, (2) securities investments for 13%, and (3) other assets for 8%. Asia was the main destination for funds, accounting for 61%, followed by America for 27%, Europe for 9%, and other areas for 3%.
The total value of all outstanding loans made by OBUs at the end of December 2010 was US$41.603 billion, of which 99.6% was extended to overseas clients, including medium and long-term loans for US$24.485 billion and short-term loans for US$16.970 billion. The remaining 0.4% was extended to local clients for US$148 million.
The volume of export related banking business of all OBUs in December 2010 was US$35.316 billion, including: (1) collection, remittance, and accounts receivable factoring for US$33.984 billion, and (2) L/C negotiation for US$1.332 billion. The volume of import related banking business of all OBUs was US$33.946 billion.
The turnover of derivative products trading by all OBUs in December 2010 was US$41.548 billion, including: (1) financial futures for US$32.426 billion, (2) options for US$8.129 billion, (3) interest rate swaps for US$835 million, (4) credit derivatives for US$99 million, (5) margin account trading for US$49 million, (6) commodity forward contracts for US$7 million, and (8) commodity swaps for US$3 million.
Note: The next dissemination will be made at 16:20 p.m. on March 9, 2011.