Cross-border banking exposure / Germany
What the world’s banks lend to Germany
The funding view: cross-border claims of BIS-reporting banks on Germany, from the locational statistics (LBS, by lender residence), with the consolidated claims by bank nationality (CBS) alongside. BIS-reporting banks held $2.44T of cross-border claims on Germany in Q4 2025, up from $38.78B when the series begins in Q4 1977.
Cross-border claims on Germany, Q4 1977–Q4 2025
LBS cross-border claims of all reporting banks on Germany, in USD trillions, quarterly. The GFC and COVID quarters are shaded. This is the residence view, where a claim counts by where the lending bank sits, so a claim on Germany booked from any reporting jurisdiction is included.
Source: BIS Locational Banking Statistics (WS_LBS_D_PUB), BIS Data Portal (data.bis.org). Selection: cross-border claims (measure C), all reporting countries (5A) vs Germany as counterparty, all instruments, all currencies, all counterparty sectors, quarterly, amounts outstanding. License: free with “Source: BIS” attribution. Values shown in USD trillions; raw BIS unit is USD millions. Methodology
Consolidated claims by bank nationality
CBS international claims on Germany in Q4 2025, broken out by the nationality of the lending banks (where the parent is headquartered, worldwide-consolidated, immediate-counterparty basis). The top 5 reporting banking systems shown account for $534.50B of the $993.76B consolidated total. This is a different measure from the residence-based claims above and is not additive with them.
| Bank nationality | International claims | Share of the largest |
|---|---|---|
| FRA France | $141.44B | |
| GBR United Kingdom | $111.47B | |
| DEU Germany | $104.69B | |
| JPN Japan | $91.59B | |
| USA United States | $85.30B |
Source: BIS Consolidated Banking Statistics (WS_CBS_PUB), BIS Data Portal (data.bis.org). Selection: international claims (measure I, domestic banks 4B, immediate-counterparty basis F), individual reporting banking system by nationality vs Germany as counterparty, latest quarter, amounts outstanding. License: free with “Source: BIS” attribution. CBS carries claims only; it has no liabilities measure by design. Methodology
Back to the cross-border overview, or Germany’s full financial profile on its country page. See the methodology for LBS versus CBS and the exact selections.