The proportion of non-local assets in Macao’s banking sector amounted to 83.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, a quarterly rise of 0.1 percent, according to new figures from the Monetary Authority of Macao. International liabilities in the sector also rose slightly, to 80.9 percent.
The majority of external assets and liabilities of the sector were related to Greater China. Claims on the mainland and Hong Kong occupied 39.5 percent and 24.2 percent of total external assets, respectively, at the end of the fourth quarter.
Claims on Portuguese-speaking countries and Belt and Road Initiative countries occupied respective shares of 0.6 percent and 12.1 percent.
In terms of external liabilities, Hong Kong and the mainland accounted for 40.3 percent and 38.9 percent of the total respectively. Portuguese-speaking countries and Belt and Road Initiative countries represented 0.3 percent and 8.8 percent respectively.
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The pataca was used in less than 1 percent of international banking transactions in the fourth quarter. The US dollar, the Hong Kong dollar, the yuan and other non-local currencies accounted for 39.3 percent, 31.9 percent, 20.3 percent and 7.6 percent of total non-local assets transacted, while their respective shares in total non-local liabilities transacted were 38.5 percent, 38.4 percent, 19.0 percent and 3.5 percent.
At the end of December, total non-local assets amounted to 2,010.4 billion patacas (US$251.4 billion), up 0.4 percent from a quarter ago. Within that total, external assets rose quarter-to-quarter by 3.5 percent to 1,499.2 billion patacas, while local assets in non-local currencies decreased by 7.6 percent to 511.2 billion patacas. External interbank loans were up from 18.8 percent to 536.9 billion patacas.
Total international liabilities, meanwhile, increased by 0.8 percent from three months ago to 1,952.1 billion patacas (US$244.1 billion). Of this total, external liabilities rose quarter-to-quarter by 3.9 percent to 1,013.1 billion patacas, whereas local liabilities in non-local currencies fell by 2.2 percent to 939.0 billion patacas.
Foreign currency deposits held by residents and Macao’s government in local banks constituted a major component of non-local liabilities. Those types of deposits increased by 3 percent to 22.6 billion patacas in the fourth quarter, when compared with the third.
