offshore funding Archives - the patient investor

April 8, 2016

APRA waves wet lettuce at bank offshore funding | MacroBusiness

From Leith van Onselen at Macrobusiness:

…..the banks’ reliance on offshore funding hit an unprecedented 54% of GDP in the December quarter:

As always, the key risk is that the banks’ ability to continue borrowing from offshore rests with foreigners’ willingness to continue extending them credit. This willingness will be tested in the event that Australia’s sovereign credit rating is downgraded (automatically downgrading the banks’ credit ratings), there is another global shock, or a sharp deterioration in the Australian economy (raising Australia’s risk premia).

The Federal Budget, too, is now hostage to the banks’ offshore borrowing binge as it cannot borrow to spend on infrastructure or other initiatives for fear that Australia will lose its AAA credit rating, potentially leading to an unraveling of the private debt bubble created by Australia’s banks.

That APRA could stand by and allow the banks’ to borrow externally like drunken sailors is a hallmark of regulatory failure.

One in four dollars of bank assets is funded by offshore borrowing. A precarious position even for a stable economy (like Ireland?), let alone one hitched to the boom and bust commodity cycle. Smacks of moral hazard by the banks.

Source: APRA waves wet lettuce at bank offshore funding – MacroBusiness

July 14, 2012

Australia and the Endgame

John Mauldin: We wrote about Australia in a full chapter of Endgame. Their economy never really suffered in the recent debt crisis, in large part due to their growing housing market and their trade with China. If you talk to the average Aussie, they think that all is right with the world. They acknowledge a few issues but see nothing major like the rest of the world has experienced. Jonathan and I think otherwise. Their housing market is by recent standards in a clear bubble (which I know will get me a lot of email). Their banking system is dominated by foreign deposits (shades of Northern Rock, but not as bad as Iceland). They are vulnerable to a Chinese economic slowdown. I should note that Chinese GDP growth was “down” to 7.6% last quarter. That China might slow down should not come as a surprise. No country can grow at 10% forever. Eventually the laws of large numbers and compounding take over. All that being said, Australian government debt and deficits are under control. Any problems should be of the nature of “normal” business cycle recessions and accompanying issues.

Comment:~ Massive Chinese stimulus saved Australia from the GFC but that is no reason to become complacent. As Steve Keen recently pointed out, Australia is in a similar position to Spain in 2006. Spain was generating a fiscal surplus which it used to reduce government debt below 40% of GDP, but its banks were exposed to a large housing bubble funded by offshore deposits. Australian banks are similarly exposed to offshore funding and are leveraged 50 to 1 on residential mortgages (Macrobusiness May 4, 2012) — even after adjusting for mortgage insurance — leaving them highly vulnerable to a contraction. We also need to recognize that Australia is not exposed to a slowdown in China’s GDP growth, but to a slowdown in Chinese spending on infrastructure and housing. While GDP growth may fall to zero, the Chinese economy will still survive, but what are Australia’s chances if that is accompanied by say a 50 percent fall in new infrastructure and housing projects? The fall in iron ore and coking coal exports would have a far greater impact on the Australian economy.

September 19, 2011

RBNZ throws cold water on RBA – macrobusiness.com.au

What should be clear…… is that the growth in Australian housing values has been funded, to a large extent, by foreign borrowings, much of it short-term.

A key risk going forward is that the banks’ ability to refinance their borrowings rests with the willingness of foreign investors to continue to lend them money. But in times of heightened risk-aversion – such as the impending European debt crisis – foreign investors can become nervous and less inclined to continue extending credit, which could leave Australia’s banks, house prices, and broader economy exposed to a sudden funding freeze.

via RBNZ throws cold water on RBA – macrobusiness.com.au