The US was Taiwan’s largest debtor for the 18th consecutive quarter at the end of December last year, as Taiwanese banks’ exposure to the US totaled US$89.75 billion, a record high on a direct-risk basis and up from US$79.25 billion at the end of September, data compiled by the central bank showed on Friday last week.
The growth in exposure largely reflected an increase in funds Taiwanese banks had parked in the US Federal Reserve and a rise in interbank loans to their US counterparts, the central bank said.
On an ultimate-risk basis, which calculates a country’s consolidated debts after risk transfers, Taiwanese banks’ exposure to the US stood at US$86.36 billion — the most among Taiwan’s debtor nations and up from US$77.08 billion a quarter earlier.
China was in second place, as outstanding international claims by Taiwanese banks rose to US$47.44 billion on a direct-risk basis, up from US$43.84 billion a quarter earlier. On an ultimate-risk basis, exposure rose to US$68.07 billion from US$65.09 billion at the end of September, the data showed.
The central bank attributed the increase to an appreciating yuan and increasing investment in China during the three-month period.
Luxembourg came in third, with Taiwanese banks’ exposure on a direct-risk basis hitting US$41.46 billion — up from US$39.43 billion a quarter earlier — ahead of Hong Kong (US$35.78 billion) and Japan (US$33.13 billion).
Australia took the No. 6 position, with Taiwanese banks’ exposure at US$23.98 billion, followed by the UK (US$17.84 billion), the Cayman Islands (US$17.57 billion), Singapore (US$16.12 billion) and the British West Indies (US$12.52 billion).
As of the end of December, total outstanding international claims by Taiwanese banks hit US$454 billion, up 4.56 percent from the end of September, the data showed.
Bank exposure to Taiwan’s top 10 debtors stood at US$335.6 billion, accounting for 73.93 percent of the country’s total international claims on a direct-risk basis, the central bank said.
Worldwide, the non-banking private sector accounted for 61.07 percent of Taiwan’s total international claims on a direct-risk basis, with the banking industry making up 30.16 percent and the public sector representing 8.76 percent, the data showed.
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