The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reported that cross-border bank credit reached a record high of $34.7 trillion at end-March 2025. BIS released the data in its March 2025 banking and liquidity report. Cross-border bank credit (ie loans plus holdings of debt securities) expanded in the first quarter( Q1), reaching a record $34.7 trillion, surpassing the pre-Great Financial Crisis peak of $33.6 trillion. The bulk of the increase was driven by cross-border bank credit to non-bank financial institutions, whose annual growth rate rose to 14%. Cross-border bank credit to emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) increased by $100 billion mainly because of higher lending to Africa and the Middle East. Global liquidity indicators at end-March 2025 In Q1 2025, dollar, euro and yen foreign currency credit to non-residents saw robust growth, at 5%, 10% and 6% year-on-year, respectively. The dollar and euro growth rates have been rising over the past few years, while the yen growth rate has fallen. In contrast to the strong growth in foreign currency credit, credit to residents within the respective currency areas showed significantly lower growth rates and a downward trend. Dollar credit to US residents grew by just 3%, euro credit within the euro area remained subdued at 2%, and yen credit to Japanese borrowers dipped into negative territory, falling below 0% at the end of Q1 2025. Redisseminated by The Asian Banker
