“The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released today international banking statistics at end-September 2013. The third quarter of 2013 saw another sizeable contraction in international banking activity. Between end-June and end-September 2013, the cross-border claims of BIS reporting banks fell by $508 billion, or 1.8%, to $28.5 trillion. Interoffice positions accounted for most of the contraction, continuing the steady decline in such positions evident since late 2011. Where cross-border lending had previously grown, the latest data indicate a slowdown. Cross-border claims on non-bank borrowers – mainly non-bank financial institutions, governments and corporations – fell only slightly between end-June and end-September 2013, by $37 billion or 0.3%. That said, this was the second consecutive quarterly decline and partially reversed the modest increase seen in 2012. Banks’ cross-border claims on emerging markets collectively increased by $57 billion or 1.6% in the third quarter; however, increases were concentrated in a few emerging market countries, notably China, declines were widespread. Developments in the latest international banking statistics are highlighted in the Statistical release. Data are available on the BIS website, via the BIS WebStats query tool, or as tables in PDF. Revised data and analyses of recent trends will be released in conjunction with the forthcoming BIS Quarterly Review on 9 March 2014. Data at end-December 2013 will be released no later than 25 April 2014.”