Availability
These data were collected and made available on a quarterly basis, and are available for periods between Q3 1986 and Q4 2004. See individual series footnotes for more detail.
Revisions
This dataset is no longer collected and no further revisions will be made.
Definitions
Exchange reserves in sterling held by central monetary institutions cover readily marketable investments in the form of British government and government-guaranteed stocks, Treasury bills and other banking and money-market assets (as defined below) held in the United Kingdom by central monetary institutions (including the Bank for International Settlements). There are other holdings of sterling which countries may regard as part of their reserves; some are included in banking and money market liabilities to other holders and others are in types of asset - equities and eurosterling assets for example - which are not covered.
Banking and money-market liabilities to other holders comprise deposits with banks in the United Kingdom by other non-residents, including non-resident offices of UK banks, and treasury bills held by reporting institutions on behalf of non-residents, which are allocated to non-banks. Up to and including 1996 Q4 the data include two types of institution; Banks in the United Kingdom and some miscellaneous financial institutions (MFIs), namely, banks in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man which have not opted to join the banking sector, non-banking sector gold dealers (up to 1994 Q4), and a small number of other financial institutions located on the mainland that are outside the banking sector but make loans to, or take deposits from, non-residents. With effect from 1997 Q4, data for MFIs are no longer included. Institutions with little external business and MFIs (from 1994 Q4 to 1997 Q4) do not provide geographical details. The business of these institutions is included in 'unallocated'. The figures for deposits placed by banks overseas include deposits from banks' trustee accounts, which may originate from non-banks. They include liabilities to the banks' own offices abroad. Liabilities to the International Monetary Fund are excluded.
Loans and money-market instruments comprise loans and advances to, and balances with, non-residents by banks in the United Kingdom, including acceptances by a reporting institution on behalf of non-residents which have been discounted by that reporting institution; assets leased out under finance leases to non-residents; commercial bills, promissory notes and other negotiable paper owned by the reporting institutions and drawn on non-residents and acceptances given by the reporting institutions on behalf of non-residents.
Debt securities comprise the reporting institutions' holdings of certain non-resident investments. These non-resident investments include securities with contractually defined repayment dates issued by non-resident governments, non-resident institutions such as the World Bank and corporate bodies registered abroad, except subsidiaries of the reporting institutions. Investments in the share and loan capital of reporting institutions' non-resident subsidiaries, and in securities without contractually defined repayment dates (e.g. equities), are excluded. A negative figure indicates a net short position.
Region and country details
European Union includes Austria, Belgium, Cyprus (from Q2 2004), Czech Republic (from Q2 2004), Denmark, Estonia (from Q2 2004), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary (from Q2 2004), Ireland, Italy, Latvia (from Q2 2004), Lithuania (from Q2 2004), Luxembourg, Malta (from Q2 2004), Netherlands, Poland (from Q2 2004), Portugal, San Marino (from Q4 2003 to Q2 2004), Slovakia (from Q2 2004), Slovenia (from Q2 2004), Spain and Sweden.
Other Western Europe includes Andorra, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus (to Q1 2004), Gibraltar, Guernsey (1997 Q3 onwards), Isle of Man (1997 Q3 onwards), Jersey (1997 Q3 onwards) , Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Malta (to Q1 2004), Norway, San Marino (from Q3 2004), Serbia & Montenegro (from Q2 2004), Slovenia (to Q1 2004), Switzerland, Turkey, Vatican City State and Former Yugoslavia (to Q1 2004).
Other OECD includes Australia, Canada, Czech Republic (to Q1 2004), Hungary (to Q1 2004), Iceland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland (to Q1 2004), Republic of Korea, Slovakia (to Q1 2004), United States and US Virgin Islands.
Eastern Europe includes Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Former Czechoslovakia (to Q1 2004), Estonia (to Q1 2004), Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia (to Q1 2004), Lithuania (to Q1 2004), Moldova, Romania, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Former Soviet Union (to Q1 2004), Uzbekistan.
Oil Exporting countries includes Abu Dhabi, Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, Dubai, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago, other United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.
Other Africa includes Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (1998 Q2 onwards), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea (1998 Q2 onwards), Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte (2003 Q4 onwards), Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, St Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Far East includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, India, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, People's Democratic Republic of Lao, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Union of Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
International organisations includes the institutions of the European Union but excludes the International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements.
Further information
More detail on the use and availability of international banking statistics can be found in a Statistics article titled 'Developments in UK international banking statistics'.
This page was last updated 16 June 2023