Total bank deposits marginally up in December

The city’s total deposits with the local banking sector amounted to MOP942.1 billion (US$177.8 billion) in December 2016, a slight increase of 0.7 per cent month-on-month despite the decline in deposits from non-residents.
According to the latest official data released yesterday by the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM), deposits from residents and the pubic sector both recorded month-on-month increases, up by 2.7 per cent and 6.2 per cent, amounting to MOP518.9 billion and MOP174.8 billion, respectively.
However, local banks saw deposits by non-residents decrease 6.2 per cent to MOP248.3 billion, compared to MOP264.7 billion one month ago.
Of the total deposits, nearly half, 47.4 per cent, were denominated in Hong Kong Dollars (HKD), followed by U.S. Dollars (USD) and Macau Patacas (MOP), accounting for 23.2 per cent and 21.7 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, the share of total deposits in Renminbi (RMB) only amounted to some 4.5 per cent.

Loans
On the other hand, local banks approved a total of MOP422.7 billion in domestic loans to the local private sector during the month of December, an increase of 1.8 per cent compared to MOP415 billion one month ago.
According to AMCM, total loans granted to the gaming sector increased by 1.3 per cent quarter-to-quarter for the fourth quarter of 2016, while those to the sector of electricity, gas and water also jumped slightly by 0.7 per cent from one quarter ago.
However information technology and manufacturing industries saw their approved loans by local banks drop by 9.1 per cent and 8.4 per cent quarter-to-quarter respectively, while loans to restaurants, hotels and similar establishments also declined by 5.7 per cent from the third quarter of 2016.
Of the total domestic loans in the month of December, 65.6 per cent, or some MOP277.3 billion, was denominated in HKD, while some MOP123.9 billion were MOP-denominated loans, accounting for 29.3 per cent of the total.
For the same month, external loans approved by the banking sector, however, decreased by 2.6 per cent month-on-month, of which more than half, 53.4 per cent, were denominated in USD, amounting to MOP193.1 billion, followed by those denominated in HKD, accounting for 27.6 per cent of the total or some MOP99.8 billion.
As at the end of the month, the loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector fell by one percentage point from the previous month to 60.9 per cent, while the non-performing loan ratio was 0.2 per cent, virtually unchanged from one month earlier, but up slightly by 0.1 percentage point from one year ago, according to AMCM.

Money supply
Meanwhile, the currency in circulation increased by 1 per cent month-on-month to MOP13.6 billion in December, whereas demand deposits declined 8 per cent, leading M1 to decrease by 6.2 per cent month-on-month to MOP63.7 billion.
As quasi-monetary recorded a month-on-month growth of 3.8 per cent, M2, the sum of quasi-monetary and M1, increased 2.5 per cent month-on-month to MOP532.4 billion in December, of which 30.6 per cent was patacas. The shares of HKD, RMB and USD were 54.3 per cent, 4.2 per cent and 8.6 per cent, respectively.