International banks’ claims on Ireland and Irish residents totaled US$113 billion at the end of March 2000, according to new data released by the Bank for International Settlements in August. These claims represent consolidated international bank lending, on balance sheet. The total includes claims against banks of US$68 billion, against the public sector of US$4.3bn and the non-bank private sector of US$38.8 billion. In addition, claims against banks with head offices outside Ireland, many of which would be IFSC banks, were US$10.5 billion. There was also an unallocated amount of US$1.9bn.
On the other side, Irish banks had consolidated claims of US$36.7bn to the rest of the world. 95 per cent of which was in developed countries. The UK was the principal location at US$19bn, followed by the US with US$5.3bn, and Germany with US$5.7bn.
Irish resident banks had claims totaling US$1.2bn on ‘offshore centres’, but the statistics do not specify in which jurisdictions. The statistics net out positions between offices of the same bank. Reported positions may differ from national statistics, the BIS says, ‘owning primarily to the fact that the data relate to the consolidated claims of domestically-owned banks only’. |
