Cross-border banking exposure / South Africa
What the world’s banks lend to South Africa
The funding view: cross-border claims of BIS-reporting banks on South Africa, from the locational statistics (LBS, by lender residence), with the consolidated claims by bank nationality (CBS) alongside. BIS-reporting banks held $57.14B of cross-border claims on South Africa in Q4 2025, up from $8.75B when the series begins in Q4 1977.
Cross-border claims on South Africa, Q4 1977–Q4 2025
LBS cross-border claims of all reporting banks on South Africa, in USD billions, 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 South Africa 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 South Africa as counterparty, all instruments, all currencies, all counterparty sectors, quarterly, amounts outstanding. License: free with “Source: BIS” attribution. Values shown in USD billions; raw BIS unit is USD millions. Methodology
Consolidated claims by bank nationality
CBS international claims on South Africa 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 $20.21B of the $26.72B 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 |
|---|---|---|
| USA United States | $7.63B | |
| GBR United Kingdom | $5.25B | |
| JPN Japan | $4.40B | |
| FRA France | $2.02B | |
| IND India | $908M |
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 South Africa 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 South Africa’s full financial profile on its country page. See the methodology for LBS versus CBS and the exact selections.