HKMA records 0.4% increase in total deposits in December 2021

Local currency deposits, meanwhile, decreased by 0.8%.

Statistics gathered by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority showed that total deposits with authorized institutions were up by 0.4% in December 2021. 

Following this performance, foreign currency deposits were also up by 1.5%, whilst Hong Kong dollar deposits decreased by 0.8%. This was mainly due to large-value commercial payments by banks’ individual customers, with the decline noted as being within the normal range of fluctuation. 

When seen on a year-long basis, total deposits and Hong Kong dollar deposits grew by 4.6% and 1.4%, respectively.

Renminbi (RMB) deposits for the month of December also saw an increase by 6.7% or amounting to $1.14t (RMB926.8b). Total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amount to $868.3b (RMB 708.5b), higher than the recorded $743.24b (RMB 606.6b) in November. 

Overall, total loans and advances were down by 0.8% but rose by 3.8% in 2021. Loans for use in Hong Kong were down 0.8%, with loans for international use following suit with a 0.9% decline in the same month.

The Hongkong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio, on the other hand, increased to 86.7% at the end of December, 2 percentage points higher than the 85.7% recorded in November.

On a quarterly basis, loans for use in Hong Kong decreased by 0.8% in the fourth quarter of 2021, following a 3.6% decline in the previous quarter. This was mainly due to trade finance. 

Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both dropped by 0.7% in December but also saw a 1.5% increase when compared on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. Hong Kong dollar M1, similarly also decreased by 1.7% in December, but grew by 5.4% YoY due to investment-related activities. Total M2 and M3 both jumped 0.5% in December whilst also recording a 4.3%, both YoY.