SAFE Releases Data on External Financial Assets and Liabilities of China's Banking Sector as at the ...
Published: July 26, 2026
🤖 AI-generated summary · official source linked below
Last verified: Aug 4, 2026 · Report an issue
Executive Summary
SAFE released quarterly statistics on China's banking sector external financial position. As of end-March 2026, banks held $2,108.6 billion in external assets against $1,485.1 billion in liabilities, resulting in net external assets of $623.6 billion. The data highlights the currency structure and counterpart distribution of cross-border banking exposures, offering transparency into China's international financial linkages.
Key Points
China's banking sector had total external financial assets of USD 2108.6 billion and external liabilities of USD 1485.1 billion at end-March 2026, yielding net external assets of USD 623.6 billion.
Net RMB liabilities stood at USD 103.9 billion, while net foreign currency assets reached USD 727.4 billion, indicating a net long foreign currency position.
On the asset side, deposits and loans accounted for 56% (USD 1182.1 billion), bond investments 30% (USD 632.9 billion), and other assets including equity 14% (USD 293.6 billion).
By currency, assets were 46% USD (USD 977.2 billion), 31% RMB (USD 662.7 billion), and 22% other currencies (USD 468.7 billion); counterpart exposure was split evenly at 50% each between overseas banking and non-banking sectors.
External liabilities were composed of deposits and loans (50%, USD 736.5 billion), bonds (16%, USD 244.9 billion), and other liabilities including equity (34%, USD 503.7 billion).
Liabilities held in RMB totaled 52% (USD 766.6 billion), USD liabilities 19% (USD 286.0 billion), and other currencies 29% (USD 432.5 billion); 64% came from overseas non-banking sectors and 36% from overseas banking sectors.
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📝 Update History
July 29, 2026
The new version of the policy was not provided, so no comparison can be made. Without the new text, it
August 4, 2026
Policy content updated; see official source for details.