Inside the banks’ offshore borrowing binge

Tuesday 29 March 2016

The release of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) National Financial Accounts last week revealed a large $123.2 billion (16%) jump in Australian banks’ gross external liabilities (offshore borrowings) in the 2015 calendar year, with borrowings now at all time record levels.

This surge in offshore borrowings was driven by a giant increase in Deposits (+$41 billion) and Bonds (+$40 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.