Overview of offshore banking units (December 2011)
PRESS RELEASE Release Date: February 8, 2012
Overview of offshore banking units (December 2011)
At the end of December 2011, there were 61 offshore banking units (OBUs) including 36 domestic banks and 25 foreign banks. The combined assets of all OBUs amounted to US$145.101 billion at the end of December 2011, an increase of US$22.171 billion or 18.04% compared to the same period of the previous year. Domestic bank OBUs accounted for US$114.259 billion or 79% of these combined assets, and foreign bank OBUs accounted for US$30.842 billion or 21% of the total.
The turnover of foreign exchange trading by all OBUs in December 2011 was US$19.099 billion consisting of: (1) spot transactions for US$9.156 billion, (2) outright forwards for US$5.967 billion, and (3) foreign exchange swaps for US$3.976 billion.
Based on balance sheet analysis, the OBUs main uses of funds were loans, which accounted for 41% of total assets. The other uses of funds included: (1) deposits with financial institutions and due from related offices, together accounting for 39% of total assets (deposits with domestic financial institutions for 1%, deposits overseas for 5%, deposits with other OBUs for 7%, and due from related offices for 26%), (2) securities investments for 11%, and (3) other assets for 9%. Asia was the main destination for funds, accounting for 63%, followed by America for 25%, Europe for 8%, and other areas for 4%.
The main sources of funds were deposits by financial institutions and due to related offices, which together accounted for 63% of total liabilities (deposits by financial institutions situated locally for 4%, deposits by financial institutions located overseas for 6%, inter-OBU deposits for 7%, and due to related offices for 46%). The other sources of funds included: (1) deposits by non-financial institutions accounting for 26% of total liabilities, and (2) other liabilities plus the equity of head office for 11%. In terms of the area of origin, Asia accounted for 70%, followed by America for 20%, Europe for 8%, and other areas for 2%.
The total value of all outstanding loans made by OBUs at the end of December 2011 was US$59.698 billion, of which 99.9% was extended to overseas clients, including medium and long-term loans for US$34.189 billion and short-term loans for US$25.468 billion. The remaining 0.1% was extended to local clients for US$41 million.
The volume of export related banking business of all OBUs in December 2011 was US$36.232 billion, including: (1) collection, remittance, and accounts receivable factoring for US$34.705 billion, and (2) L/C negotiation for US$1.527 billion. The volume of import related banking business of all OBUs was US$32.440 billion.
The turnover of derivative products trading by all OBUs in December 2011 was US$24.348 billion, including: (1) options for US$12.079 billion, (2) futures for US$12.006 billion, (3) interest rate swaps for US$106 million, (4) credit derivatives for US$99 million, (5) margin account trading for US$45 million, (6) commodity swaps for US$12 million, and (7) commodity forward contracts for US$1 million.
Note: The next dissemination will be made at 16:20 p.m. on March 2, 2012.