Statistical Release – Consolidated Banking Statistics: Foreign Claims Q4 2016
Statistical Release
7 April 2017
Consolidated Banking Statistics: Foreign Claims – Q4 2016
Domestic banks’1 claims on foreign residents fell by €2.6 billion (3.2 per cent) in Q4 2016,
bringing the outstanding amount of claims to €79.3 billion. Claims on the foreign private
sector were the predominant driver with a decrease of €3.4 billion recorded. Claims on the
UK accounted for the largest country decrease of €2.6 billion (4.7 per cent) over the quarter.
The decline in Q4 2016 reflected foreign exchange movements and retrenchment in lending
over the period. Domestic banks’ largest foreign claims continued to be on the UK, and
accounted for 66 per cent of claims at end-Q4 2016, the majority of which were vis-à-vis the
private sector (Table 1).
Table 1: Overview of Foreign Claims by Country & Sector, end-December 2016
Q4 2016
€ million
% of total
By country
United Kingdom
United States
France
Spain
Netherlands
Rest of World
Total
By sector
Credit institutions
Public sector
Private sector
1
Change in Quarter
€ million
% change
52,492
6,387
3,914
2,193
1,703
12,658
79,347
66.2%
8.0%
4.9%
2.8%
2.1%
16.0%
100.0%
-2,584
511
-70
107
-16
-534
-2,586
-4.7%
8.7%
-1.8%
5.1%
-0.9%
-4.0%
-3.2%
9,482
13,004
56,862
12.0%
16.4%
71.7%
-825
1,591
-3,351
-8.0%
13.9%
-5.6%
In this case, the Central Bank of Ireland defines domestic banks as those banks whose ultimate parent entity is resident in
Ireland.
Statistical Release – Consolidated Banking Statistics: Foreign Claims Q4 2016
Developments in Foreign claims by Sector

Decreases were observed across credit institutions’ and private sector claims, with each
recording declines of €825 million and €3.4 billion, respectively. Claims on foreign public
sector counterparts increased by €1.6 billion (Chart 1). The majority of Irish resident banks’
foreign claims were on the private sector, which accounted for almost three quarters of
total claims at end-Q4 2016. Claims on foreign public sectors (16 per cent) and credit
institutions (12 per cent) were relatively small in comparison.

Foreign claims recorded an annual decline of €15.5 billion or 16.4 per cent in the four
quarters to end-Q4 2016. Annual declines were recorded in all quarters of 2016, compared
with three quarters of annual growth recorded in 2015.
Chart 1: Foreign Claims; net flows (4-qr sum) and annual rate of change
€ billion
80
per cent
50
40
60
30
40
20
20
10
0
0
-10
-20
-20
-40
-30
-60
-40
-80
-50
06
07
08
09
10
11
Non-Credit Institution Private Sector
Credit Institutions
12
13
14
15
16
Public Sector
Total foreign claims, % (rhs)
Developments in Local & Cross-Border Claims

Local claims2 stood at €50.3 billion at end-Q4 2016. This represented a €2.3 billion decrease
during the quarter, and follows on from a €3.9 billion decrease in Q3 2016. Local claims fell
by €14.4 billion (22.3 per cent) on an annual basis at end-Q4 2016; this was the fourth
successive period of annual decline.
2
Local claims are claims where the location of the bank office that books the position is the same as the location
of the claim counterpart (e.g. UK subsidiary of an Irish headquartered bank lending to UK resident).
Statistical Release – Consolidated Banking Statistics: Foreign Claims Q4 2016

Cross-border3 claims were lower at €29.1 billion at end-Q4 2016, following a fall
of €252 million (0.9 per cent) over the quarter. In annual terms, cross-border claims
recorded a decline of 3.7 per cent in Q4 2016, and follows on from a decline
of 4.9 per cent in Q3 2016. At end Q4-2016, cross-border claims had recorded four
consecutive quarters of annual decline.
Chart 2: Local and Cross-Border claims; net flows (4-qr sum) and annual rate of change
Developments in Claims by Location of Counterparty

Domestic banks’ largest foreign claims were on the United Kingdom (including Northern
Ireland), with exposures of €52.5 billion at end-Q4 2016. Foreign claims on the UK fell by
€2.6 billion (4.7 per cent) over the quarter. This was driven by a decrease in claims on credit
institutions and the non-bank private sector, with claims on the UK non-bank private sector
recording the largest decline of €2.8 billion. Chart 3 shows that the vast majority of the
domestic banks’ claims on the UK are on the non-bank private sector, while exposures to
credit institutions and the public sector are relatively small in comparison.
3
Cross-border claims refer to claims where the location of the bank office that books the position is different to
the location of the claim counterpart (e.g. an Irish bank office lending to UK resident).
Statistical Release – Consolidated Banking Statistics: Foreign Claims Q4 2016
Chart 3: Geographical Breakdown of Foreign Claims, end-December 2016
All Foreign Claims

UK Claims
There was an 8.7 per cent, or €511 million, increase in claims on the US over Q4 2016.
This rise was driven by growth in claims on the US public sector and non-bank private
sector.

France, Spain and the Netherlands were also important locations for the foreign claims
of Irish banks at end-Q4 2016. Foreign claims on these three countries increased
cumulatively by €21 million during the quarter. This was driven by an increase in claims
on Spain of €107 million, partly offset by decreases in claims on France and the
Netherlands of €70 million and €16 million, respectively.
Chart 4: Locations of Irish Foreign Claims
Note:
Statistical Release – Consolidated Banking Statistics: Foreign Claims Q4 2016
The consolidated banking statistics detail the claims of the domestic banks on non-residents, by
counterpart country and sector on an ultimate risk basis i.e. according to the country and sector where
the ultimate guarantor of the risk resides. The dataset used is similar in methodology to the Consolidated
Banking Statistics published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), but differs in coverage, as it
refers only to the domestic Irish banks.
The tables can be accessed on the Central Bank of Ireland website. The dataset begins in Q4 2004 and
the latest data published relate to end-Q4 2016.