Inside the banks’ offshore borrowing binge

Thursday 17 December 2015

The release of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) National Financial Accounts yesterday revealed a large $53 billion (7%) jump in Australian banks’ gross external liabilities (offshore borrowings) in the September quarter, with borrowings now at all time record levels.

This surge in offshore borrowings was driven by a giant increase in Bonds (+$33 billion) followed by Deposits (+$18 billion):

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.