International banking statistics at end-June 2014

20 October 2014

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today released international banking statistics at end-June 2014.

  • Between end-March and end-June 2014, international banking activity expanded for a second consecutive quarter following the sustained contraction experienced in 2012 and 2013. After the latest quarterly increase, the annual growth rate of cross-border claims turned slightly positive for the first time since late 2011, to 1% in the year to end-June 2014.
  • International lending to offshore financial centres remained strong in the second quarter of 2014. BIS reporting banks channelled more credit to investment funds and other non-bank entities in the Cayman Islands in particular.
  • Banks' cross-border claims on emerging market economies continued their recovery from the "taper tantrum" of mid-2013. Increases in the second quarter of 2014 were concentrated in Asia, with China again receiving substantial inflows. Decreases were concentrated in eastern Europe, where cross-border credit to Russia and Ukraine contracted further.

Developments in the latest international banking statistics, including breaks in series arising from methodological changes, are summarised in the Statistical release. Data are available on the BIS website, via the BIS WebStats query tool, or as tables in PDF. Data are subject to change; revised data will be released in conjunction with the forthcoming BIS Quarterly Review on 7 December 2014. The international banking statistics at end-September 2014 will be released on or before 23 January 2015.

Queries regarding the international banking statistics may be directed to statistics$bis.org (where "$" denotes "@").