THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1985
DEPOSITS
HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS GREW BY 1.4 PER CENT IN MARCH, AFTER AN INCREASE OF 0.7 PER CENT IN FEBRUARY, THE GROWTH RATE OVER THE THREE MONTHS TO MARCH WAS 2.5 PER CENT AND OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS WAS 16.2 PER CENT.
FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS ROSE SUBSTANTIALLY BY 4.9
PER CENT IN MARCH, FOLLOWING AN INCREASE OF 1.9 PER CENT IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH. WHILE THESE ROSE BY 6.8 PER CENT DURING THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1995, THEY WERE 28.8 PER CENT HIGHER OVER THE TWELVE MONTHS TO MARCH. PART OF THESE INCREASES REFLECTED THE FURTHER INCREASE IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SWAP DEPOSITS.
FIGURES ON SWAP DEPOSITS COLLECTED FROM BANKS INDICATE AN INCREASE OF 5.2 PER CENT ($1.2 BILLION) OVER THE MONTH TO $24.6 BILLION AT THE END OF MARCH. THESE DEPOSITS REPRESENTED 16.4 PER CENT OF TOTAL FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS WITH BANKS AT THE END OF MARCH, WHICH IS SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN AT THE END OF FEBRUARY, AS THESE SWAP DEPOSITS ARE IN NATURE HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS WITH INTEREST OFFERED CLOSE TO THE LOCAL MONEY MARKET RATES, THEY SHOULD BE REGARDED AS SUCH FOR ANALYTICAL PURPOSES.
THE ADJUSTED GROWTH RATES FOR HONG KONG DOLLAR DEPOSITS WERE HIGHER. BY 1.8 PER CENT IN MARCH AND 4.4 PER CENT IN THE THREE MONTHS TO MARCH. ADJUSTED FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS ON THE OTHER HAND, ROSE BY 4.8 PER CENT BOTH IN MARCH AND OVER THE THREE MONTHS.
THE GROWTH RATE OF TOTAL DEPOSITS WITH BANKS, AT 2.7 PER CENT IN MARCH, REMAINED SLOWER THAN THAT WITH DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES, AT 4.5 PER CENT. THE RESPECTIVE GROWTH RATES IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH WERE 0.9 PER CENT AND 2.6 PER CENT. THIS IS PROBABLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE WIDENING DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN HKAB RATES AND MONEY MARKET RATES OVER THIS PERIOD. HOWEVER OVER THE THREE MONTHS, DEPOSITS WITH BANKS ROSE BY 5.5 PER CENT WHILE THOSE WITH DEPOSIT-TAKING COMPANIES BY ONLY 0.9 PER CENT.
HONG KONG