Japanese banks biggest overseas lenders
(19 September 2013 – Japan) Japanese banks have accounted for the biggest cross-border lending at the end of March according to The Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
BIS said Japanese banks accounted for 13 percent of cross-border lending at the end of March, compared to just 8 percent in early 2007.
It said this was caused by more Japanese lending to emerging markets, United States and Caribbean borrowers.
The bank said Japanese banks funded their expansion mainly through financing from their large domestic deposit base.
BIS tracks cross-border lending around the world.
The lending in March put Japanese lenders ahead of United States and German banks, which accounted for 12 percent and 11 percent of cross-border lending at the end of March, respectively.
British and French banks both contributed just over 10 percent of loans.
Despite the spike in lending, Japanese banks remain a long way below the dominant position they held in the late 1980s.
At that time, Japanese banks accounted for 39 percent of all cross-border lending at their peak, BIS said.
Their share fell sharply in the 1990s and only inched higher six years ago.
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