In March 2003, banks and selected Registered Financial Corporations (RFCs)
began reporting their international assets, liabilities and country exposures
to APR in ARF/RRF 231 International Exposures. This return is the basis of
the data provided by Australia to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
for its International Banking Statistics (IBS) data collection. APR ceased
the RFC data collection after September 2010.
The IBS data are based on the methodology described in the BIS Guide on
International Financial Statistics (see
http://www.bis.org/statistics/intfinstatsguide.pdf; Part II International
banking statistics). Data reported for Australia, and other countries, on the
BIS website are expressed in United States dollars (USD).
Data are recorded on an end-quarter basis.
All banks operating in Australia complete ARF 231. Between March 2003 and
September 2010, only those larger RFCs with sizeable overseas assets and/or
liabilities completed RRF 231. Bank and RFC positions are reported in
Australian dollars (AUD). Non-AUD denominated positions have been converted to
AUD using an appropriate end-quarter exchange rate, so changes in reported
data between quarters are due not only to changes in positions but also
valuation gains or losses due to exchange rate changes.
There are two sets of IBS data: locational data, which are used to gauge the
role of banks and financial centres in the intermediation of international
capital flows; and consolidated data, which can be used to monitor the country
risk exposure of national banking systems. Only consolidated data are reported
in this statistical table.
The data in this statistical table summarise the country exposures of
Australian-owned banks (and selected RFCs between March 2003 and September
2010). This is a smaller reporting pool than the series reported in
statistical table B11.2, which is based on all banks and RFCs reporting
ARF/RRF 231 data. The types of assets included here are consistent with those
reported in statistical tables B11.1, B11.2 and B12.1, except that the data
are consolidated for Australian-owned reporting entities (i.e. includes the
claims on countries of all the offices worldwide of entities with head offices
in Australia, but excludes positions between different offices of the same
group). Consolidated data only include positions with non-residents (in any
currency).
Data are shown for a selected group of countries that account for the bulk of
the total. Similar data for other countries are also available in statistical
tables B13.1.1 and B13.1.2.
Data presented in this statistical table are immediate risk claims (expressed
by the BIS as claims on an immediate borrower basis), which cover exposures on
an immediate counterparty location basis. Ultimate risk claims are presented
in a complementary statistical table B13.2, which cover immediate exposures
adjusted (via guarantees and other risk transfers) to reflect the location of
the ultimate counterparty/risk.
In the maturity distribution, the shortest maturity bracket includes deposits
that are repayable on demand, overdue items and overdrafts.
aInternational claimsa represent cross-border claims in all currencies and
foreign officesa local claims in non-local currencies (which would include,
for example, USD claims on New Zealand residents by the New Zealand
subsidiary of an Australian-owned bank). Also shown are the local currency
claims on local residents by the foreign offices of reporting entities (for
example, the New Zealand dollar (NZD) claims on New Zealand residents by the
New Zealand subsidiary of an Australian-owned bank). These local currency
claims are added to international claims to produce foreign claims.
International organisations are included in the aPublic sectora category in
the consolidated data (while in the locational data they can be reported as
either bank or non-bank depending on the particular organisation). Official
monetary authorities (central banks or similar national and international
bodies, such as the BIS) are also included in the public sector in the
consolidated data (but are treated as banks in the locational data, B12.1 and
B12.2). Publicly-owned entities (other than banks) are classed in the aNon-
bank private sectora in the consolidated data (and as non-banks in the
locational data).
The aNet risk transfera is mainly due to risk transfers into and out of
Australia and typically does not sum to zero. In several cases, risk is
transferred out of the countries listed and into Australia hence becoming, in
effect, domestic exposures (and reducing foreign claims on an ultimate risk
basis). Similarly, the risk associated with what were initially domestic
exposures has in several cases been transferred, via guarantees and other risk
transfers, to other countries (thereby increasing foreign claims on an
ultimate risk basis). The total risk transfer amount is not comparable to the
risk transfer amount reported for Australia in the data series of statistical
table B11.2 as the former covers only Australian-owned entities while the
latter is for all reporting entities.
Derivatives are not included in international claims or foreign claims.