Banks re-commence offshore borrowing binge

Tuesday 6 September 2016

After one quarter of relative prudence, Australia’s banks re-commenced borrowing from offshore like drunken sailors, with gross external liabilities surging by $32.5 billion (3.8%) to a near record $891.3 billion, according to yesterday’s balance of payments release from the ABS:

This borrowing binge was also driven by short-term (i.e. less than one-year term-to-maturity) borrowings, which rose by $22.0 billion (5.3%) over the quarter, versus a rise of $10.5 billion (2.4%) for long-term borrowings:

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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.