BIS global liquidity indicators at end-March 2026

Key takeaways

  • The BIS global liquidity indicators exhibited robust growth in foreign currency credit denominated in US dollars and euros, with the latter expanding at a relatively faster pace.

Global liquidity indicators at end-March 2026

The BIS global liquidity indicators (GLIs) track total credit to non-bank borrowers, covering both loans extended by banks and funding from international bond markets.5 The latter is captured through the net issuance (gross issuance less redemptions) of international debt securities (IDS). The focus is on foreign currency credit denominated in the three major reserve currencies (US dollar, euro and Japanese yen) to non-residents, ie borrowers outside the respective currency areas.

Foreign currency credit denominated in US dollars and euros grew robustly in Q1 2026, with annual growth rates of 7.3% and 12%, respectively. The outstanding stock of US dollar-denominated foreign currency debt reached $14.7 trillion as of end-March 2026, with approximately 30% attributed to EMDE borrowers (Graph 6.A). Meanwhile, euro-denominated foreign currency debt stood at €5.1 trillion, with around 17% owed by EMDE borrowers (Graph 6.B).

While the outstanding stock of euro-denominated foreign currency credit remains substantially lower than its US dollar counterpart, the former has grown faster than the latter in recent years, both globally and within EMDEs (Graph 6.C). Consequently, between end-Q3 2022 and end-Q1 2026, the share of euro credit has risen from 22% to 28% globally and from 14% to 18% in EMDEs (Graph 6.D).6

Annex graphs

6  While the increase in the euro share is a bit smaller when calculated using constant exchange rates, the overall trend remains positive (Graph 6.D, dotted lines).