The US ranked as the largest debtor to Taiwanese banks for the 20th consecutive quarter at the end of June, the central bank said on Friday.
Data compiled by the central bank showed that outstanding claims on a direct risk basis by Taiwanese banks on US debtors totaled US$91.90 billion at the end of June, up about US$7.55 billion from a quarter earlier.
The increase came after the combined value of Taiwanese-owned assets in the US grew in the wake of a significant rebound of US stock markets when the US Federal Reserve eased its monetary policy to support the US economy amid the crisis caused by COVID-19, the central bank said.
On an ultimate risk basis, which calculates a country’s consolidated debts after risk transfers, local banks’ claims in the US totaled US$89.32 billion, larger than in any other nation and an increase from US$83.90 billion at the end of March, the data showed.
China was in second place, with the exposure of Taiwanese banks hitting US$47.77 billion, up from US$46.13 billion on a direct risk basis, ahead of exposure to Luxembourg, which reached US$37.51 billion, up from US$32.02 billion, the data showed.
Hong Kong dropped one notch to fourth place with exposure for Taiwanese banks down US$3.36 billion to US$33.67 billion at the end of June, it showed.
The central bank said that exposure to Hong Kong fell as local banks became more cautious about their investment risks in the territory after Beijing passed the National Security Law for Hong Kong in late June.
Japan took the fifth spot with exposure for Taiwanese banks at US$29.31 billion, down from US$31.32 billion, followed by Australia (US$24.98 billion), the Cayman Islands (US$18.93 billion), the UK (US$18.21 billion), Singapore (US$15.52 billion) and the British West Indies (US$12.39 billion).
Banks’ exposure to Taiwan’s top 10 debtors stood at US$330.2 billion, accounting for 72.45 percent of the nation’s total international claims on a direct risk basis, the central bank said.
The non-banking private sector accounted for 58.71 percent of Taiwan’s total international claims on a direct risk basis, the central bank said, adding that stakes in the foreign banks represented 31.65 percent of total international assets, while the public sector represented 9.64 percent.
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