Japanese banks are world’s biggest overseas lenders again

Large domestic deposit base fueling expansion.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said Japanese banks accounted for 13% of cross-border lending at the end of March, compared to just 8% in early 2007. It said this was caused by more Japanese lending to emerging markets, U.S. and Caribbean borrowers.

The bank said Japanese banks funded their expansion mainly through financing from their large domestic deposit base. BIS tracks cross-border lending around the world.

The lending in March put Japanese lenders ahead of U.S. and German banks, which accounted for 12% and 11% of cross-border lending at the end of March, respectively. British and French banks both contributed just over 10% of loans.

Despite the spike in lending, Japanese banks remain a long way below the dominant position they held in the late 1980s. At that time, Japanese banks accounted for 39% of all cross-border lending at their peak, BIS said. Their share fell sharply in the 1990s and only inched higher six years ago.