Cross-border claims
Which banking systems lend to the world
Banks located in 46 reporting jurisdictions held $45.97T of cross-border claims outstanding in Q4 2025, against 219 counterparty countries. This layer is the creditor side of that matrix: one page per reporting banking system. The borrower side, who funds a given country, lives in cross-border exposure.
Read this before the rankings
Claims are collected from the reporting banking systems, so an economy appears as a lender only if it reports to the BIS. 48 economies have ever reported; 219 appear as borrowers in Q4 2025.
Of the 46 systems reporting in Q4 2025, 31 publish a counterparty breakdown. The other 15 publish an all-countries total and no country cells, and they carry $4.30T, 9.4% of the world stock. Not one of the 15 has a named counterparty cell in any quarter of the series. The largest is China, the 7th largest reporting system in Q4 2025. Each still gets a page here, carrying the total and saying the split does not exist.
| Total only, no counterparty split | Claims | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| CHN China | $1.98T | 4.30% |
| SGP Singapore | $815.14B | 1.77% |
| CYM Cayman Islands | $325.45B | 0.71% |
| NOR Norway | $221.54B | 0.48% |
| BHR Bahrain | $146.63B | 0.32% |
| TUR Türkiye | $140.70B | 0.31% |
| PRT Portugal | $135.35B | 0.29% |
| SAU Saudi Arabia | $111.14B | 0.24% |
| BHS The Bahamas | $107.06B | 0.23% |
| MYS Malaysia | $93.59B | 0.20% |
| IND India | $82.85B | 0.18% |
| PAN Panama | $75.94B | 0.17% |
| CYP Cyprus | $30.51B | 0.07% |
| IDN Indonesia | $26.38B | 0.06% |
| BMU Bermuda | $11.83B | 0.03% |
| 15 systems | $4.30T | 9.4% |
Source: BIS Locational Banking Statistics (WS_LBS_D_PUB), BIS Data Portal (data.bis.org). Selection: cross-border claims (measure C, amounts outstanding), individual reporting country vs all counterparties (5J), 2025-Q4; a system is counted as "total only" when it has no row with a named counterparty (cp_iso3) in that quarter. License:free with “Source: BIS” attribution. Shares are of the all-reporters, all-counterparties total (5A x 5J). The individual reporters' own totals sum to that same figure at the precision of the file, which the build checks. Methodology
The creditor ranking
All 46 reporting systems in Q4 2025, by cross-border claims outstanding. This is a residence measure: it ranks where lending is booked, not who owns the bank. Coveris the sum of a system’s named counterparty cells divided by its own published total. Across the 31 systems that publish a split it runs from 83.4% to 100.0%, and it is never used to reconstruct a total.
| # | Reporting system | Claims | Share | Counterparties | Cover | Relative size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GBR United Kingdom | $6.72T | 14.62% | 180 | 94.8% | |
| 2 | FRA France | $6.15T | 13.38% | 192 | 98.3% | |
| 3 | JPN Japan | $5.10T | 11.09% | 109 | 99.1% | |
| 4 | DEU Germany | $4.54T | 9.88% | 163 | 97.4% | |
| 5 | USA United States | $4.32T | 9.39% | 88 | 98.4% | |
| 6 | HKG Hong Kong SAR | $2.32T | 5.04% | 130 | 97.3% | |
| 7 | CHN China | $1.98T | 4.30% | none | not published | |
| 8 | CAN Canada | $1.80T | 3.91% | 53 | 92.4% | |
| 9 | NLD Netherlands | $1.41T | 3.07% | 73 | 94.0% | |
| 10 | ESP Spain | $1.24T | 2.70% | 162 | 99.1% | |
| 11 | ITA Italy | $1.17T | 2.55% | 131 | 96.7% | |
| 12 | CHE Switzerland | $1.06T | 2.31% | 197 | 96.8% | |
| 13 | LUX Luxembourg | $823.51B | 1.79% | 162 | 97.3% | |
| 14 | SGP Singapore | $815.14B | 1.77% | none | not published | |
| 15 | IRL Ireland | $696.78B | 1.52% | 93 | 98.0% | |
| 16 | TWN Chinese Taipei | $622.48B | 1.35% | 149 | 99.2% | |
| 17 | BEL Belgium | $593.15B | 1.29% | 182 | 97.1% | |
| 18 | AUS Australia | $555.67B | 1.21% | 160 | 99.1% | |
| 19 | SWE Sweden | $409.57B | 0.89% | 97 | 85.3% | |
| 20 | AUT Austria | $328.39B | 0.71% | 160 | 93.8% | |
| 21 | CYM Cayman Islands | $325.45B | 0.71% | none | not published | |
| 22 | KOR Korea | $272.80B | 0.59% | 152 | 89.7% | |
| 23 | DNK Denmark | $272.20B | 0.59% | 111 | 97.6% | |
| 24 | JEY Jersey | $249.44B | 0.54% | 83 | 98.4% | |
| 25 | FIN Finland | $233.63B | 0.51% | 114 | 83.4% | |
| 26 | NOR Norway | $221.54B | 0.48% | none | not published | |
| 27 | MAC Macao SAR | $214.68B | 0.47% | 62 | 100.0% | |
| 28 | BHR Bahrain | $146.63B | 0.32% | none | not published | |
| 29 | TUR Türkiye | $140.70B | 0.31% | none | not published | |
| 30 | PRT Portugal | $135.35B | 0.29% | none | not published | |
| 31 | GRC Greece | $121.75B | 0.26% | 46 | 84.5% | |
| 32 | GGY Guernsey | $113.81B | 0.25% | 107 | 99.0% | |
| 33 | SAU Saudi Arabia | $111.14B | 0.24% | none | not published | |
| 34 | BHS The Bahamas | $107.06B | 0.23% | none | not published | |
| 35 | MYS Malaysia | $93.59B | 0.20% | none | not published | |
| 36 | IND India | $82.85B | 0.18% | none | not published | |
| 37 | PAN Panama | $75.94B | 0.17% | none | not published | |
| 38 | BRA Brazil | $72.49B | 0.16% | 65 | 99.5% | |
| 39 | ZAF South Africa | $63.56B | 0.14% | 77 | 97.7% | |
| 40 | MEX Mexico | $62.84B | 0.14% | 43 | 100.0% | |
| 41 | IMN Isle of Man | $59.74B | 0.13% | 95 | 99.4% | |
| 42 | PHL Philippines | $45.30B | 0.10% | 57 | 98.8% | |
| 43 | CYP Cyprus | $30.51B | 0.07% | none | not published | |
| 44 | CHL Chile | $28.90B | 0.06% | 45 | 100.0% | |
| 45 | IDN Indonesia | $26.38B | 0.06% | none | not published | |
| 46 | BMU Bermuda | $11.83B | 0.03% | none | not published |
Source: BIS Locational Banking Statistics (WS_LBS_D_PUB), BIS Data Portal (data.bis.org). Selection: cross-border claims (measure C), individual reporting country vs all counterparties (5J) for the total, and vs individual counterparty countries for the counterparty count and cover, 2025-Q4. License:free with “Source: BIS” attribution. Cover is the sum of a reporter's named-counterparty cells divided by its own published total; it is never used to reconstruct the total. Methodology
The largest bilateral exposures
The 15 biggest single cells in the matrix, Q4 2025: one reporting system’s claims on one counterparty country. They run between 6 lending systems and 7 borrowers. 2 of the 15 are claims on the Cayman Islands. The counterparty is allocated by the residence of the borrowing office, not by the nationality of its parent.
| Lender (banks located in) | Borrower (counterparty) | Claims | Share of the largest |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Japan | USA United States | $2.27T | |
| GBR United Kingdom | USA United States | $2.26T | |
| DEU Germany | GBR United Kingdom | $1.64T | |
| FRA France | GBR United Kingdom | $1.40T | |
| CAN Canada | USA United States | $1.22T | |
| USA United States | GBR United Kingdom | $1.14T | |
| USA United States | CYM Cayman Islands | $1.01T | |
| FRA France | USA United States | $920.61B | |
| JPN Japan | CYM Cayman Islands | $738.15B | |
| FRA France | DEU Germany | $573.30B | |
| GBR United Kingdom | FRA France | $528.40B | |
| DEU Germany | FRA France | $502.73B | |
| JPN Japan | GBR United Kingdom | $453.76B | |
| FRA France | ITA Italy | $446.16B | |
| USA United States | CAN Canada | $430.84B |
Source: BIS Locational Banking Statistics (WS_LBS_D_PUB), BIS Data Portal (data.bis.org). Selection: cross-border claims (measure C), individual reporting country vs individual counterparty country, 2025-Q4, ranked by value. License:free with “Source: BIS” attribution. Methodology
Through the crisis, Q4 1977–Q4 2025
Cross-border claims of all reporting banks, USD trillions, quarterly. The stock reached $35.45T in Q1 2008, its maximum before 2011. Between that quarter and Q4 2010 its lowest value was $28.45T, in Q2 2010, −19.8% against the peak. Its lowest value at any point after the peak comes later, in Q4 2016: $27.08T, −23.6% against the peak. It first exceeded its Q1 2008 level again in Q4 2020, 51 quarters later.
Source: BIS Locational Banking Statistics (WS_LBS_D_PUB), BIS Data Portal (data.bis.org). Selection: cross-border claims (measure C, amounts outstanding), all reporting countries (5A) vs all countries (5J), quarterly, 1977-Q4 to 2025-Q4. License:free with “Source: BIS” attribution. Nominal USD, not deflated and not exchange-rate adjusted: a change in the stock mixes changes in positions with changes in the dollar value of non-dollar books. The BIS adjusted-change series that separates the two is not in this cut, so this page does not attempt the split. Methodology
Who grew and who retreated
Change in the nominal claim stock between Q1 2008 and Q4 2025, for the 40 systems reporting in both quarters. The world total changed +29.7% over the same span. All 40 systems reporting at Q1 2008 still report in Q4 2025. The other 6 systems reporting in Q4 2025 first reported after Q1 2008 and have no Q1 2008 figure to pair with, so no change can be computed for them: China, Cyprus, Indonesia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
| MAC Macao SAR | $29.58B | $214.68B | +626% |
| CAN Canada | $321.37B | $1.80T | +460% |
| MEX Mexico | $17.75B | $62.84B | +254% |
| CHL Chile | $8.22B | $28.90B | +252% |
| TWN Chinese Taipei | $191.42B | $622.48B | +225% |
| TUR Türkiye | $44.84B | $140.70B | +214% |
| HKG Hong Kong SAR | $778.74B | $2.32T | +197% |
| IND India | $27.98B | $82.85B | +196% |
| CYM Cayman Islands | $1.87T | $325.45B | −83% |
| BHS The Bahamas | $452.45B | $107.06B | −76% |
| GGY Guernsey | $270.21B | $113.81B | −58% |
| BEL Belgium | $1.25T | $593.15B | −52% |
| JEY Jersey | $513.63B | $249.44B | −51% |
| AUT Austria | $548.54B | $328.39B | −40% |
| IMN Isle of Man | $98.17B | $59.74B | −39% |
| IRL Ireland | $1.14T | $696.78B | −39% |
Source: BIS Locational Banking Statistics (WS_LBS_D_PUB), BIS Data Portal (data.bis.org). Selection: cross-border claims (measure C), individual reporting country vs all counterparties (5J), 2008-Q1 and 2025-Q4, inner-joined on reporter. License:free with “Source: BIS” attribution. Percent change in the nominal USD stock. It mixes changes in positions with changes in the dollar value of non-dollar books, and it is not a flow. Methodology
What this data cannot tell you
- It cannot tell you what non-reporting countries lend. 219 countries appear as borrowers in Q4 2025; 171 of them have never appeared as a reporting system in any quarter of this table. The reporting banks held $2.33T of claims on those 171, and what their own banks lend does not enter any figure in this layer. The five largest of them, by claims on them: United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Poland, Czechia, British Virgin Islands.
- It cannot tell you who the total-only systems lend to. $5.60T of the $45.97T total, 12.2%, sits in no named lender-borrower cell. $4.30T of that is the books of the 15 systems that publish no country split at all. The remaining $1.30T is the difference, inside the 31 systems that do publish one, between their own published totals and the sum of their named country cells.
- It cannot tell you who bears the risk.These are residence figures: a US bank’s London branch counts as a UK claim, not a US one. The same convention puts 2 of the 15 largest cells in the matrix into the Cayman Islands. The nationality view is the consolidated statistics, a different dataset with a different reporting population, and the two are never summed here.
- It cannot tell you what moved and what was revalued. Every figure here is a nominal USD stock. This cut carries no exchange-rate-adjusted change measure, so no page here calls a change a flow.
- It stops where the reporting stops. 2 systems have reported and then stopped: Russia, last reported Q4 2021; Curaçao, last reported Q2 2017. Each keeps a page, frozen at its final quarter and labelled as such. None is carried forward, and none is imputed.
Open any reporting system for its counterparty book, if it publishes one, and its history back to its first reported quarter. The methodology gives the exact BIS selection behind every figure, and the traps in the table that it is built to avoid.