Gluttonous Aussie banks pause from binging on offshore debt

Wednesday 20 December 2017

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) yesterday released its National Financial Accounts for the September quarter, which revealed a small 0.2% quarterly fall in Australian banks’ gross external liabilities (offshore borrowings) in the September quarter, but a significant 4% reduction over the year and a sharp contraction relative to Australia’s GDP.

Deposits (-$14 billion) and loans issued offshore (-$3 billion) drove the quarterly fall on offshore borrowings by the banks over the September quarter, partly offset by a $13 billion rise in One Name Paper:

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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.