TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1983
THE MONETARY SECTOR HAS MORE THAN SUFFICIENT COVER FOR ITS NET SPOT FOREIGN CURRENCY LIABILITIES. STATISTICS COLLECTED FOR PRUDENTIAL SUPERVISION PURPOSES BY THE COMMISSIONER OF BANKING AND OF DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES SHOW THAT BY THE END OF DECEMBER, THE MONETARY SECTOR HAD $19.5 BILLION NET SPOT FOREIGH CURRENCY LIABILITIES AND $37.6 BILLION NET FORWARD FOREIGN CURRENCY ASSETS.
LIQUIDITY RATIOS
THE AVERAGE LIQUIDITY RATIO (AS DEFINED IN S. 18 OF THE BANKING ORDINANCE) FOR ALL BANKS IN DECEMBER WAS 47.2 PER CENT, SLIGHTLY BELOW THE 47.5 PER CENT IN NOVEMBER. THE AVERAGE LIQUIDITY RATIO (AS DEFINED IN S. 24A OF THE DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES ORDINANCE) FOR ALL DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES DECLINED SLIGHTLY TO 57.3 PER CENT IN DECEMBER FROM 57.7 PER CENT IN NOVEMBER.
NUMBER OF REPORTING INSTITUTIONS
THE NUMBER OF REPORTING LICENSED BANKS INCREASED BY TWO TO 128. THE NUMBER OF REPORTING LICENSED DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES ALSO INCREASED BY ONE TO 18, WHILE THE NUMBER OF REPORTING REGISTERED DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES DECREASED BY THREE TO 341. THERE WERE, IN FACT, 343 REGISTERED DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES OPERATING AT THE END OF DECEMBER, BUT TWO OF THEM, HAVING CEASED TO OPERATE IN EARLY JANUARY 1983, FAILED TO SUBMIT THEIR RETURNS. HOWEVER, THE OVERALL FIGURES HAVE NOT, AS A RESULT, BEEN DISTORTED TO ANY SIGNIFICANT EXTENT.
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