Global cross-border bank credit expands 11%, highest since 2008
Global cross-border bank credit expanded by 11 percent year-on-year in 2025, reaching its highest annual growth rate since Q1 2008. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reported that credit to emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) also saw robust expansion.
Strongest growth in 17 years
Global cross-border bank claims surged by $994 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, pushing the total outstanding stock to $46 trillion.
Cross-border bank credit expanded by $656 billion in Q4 2025, achieving an 11 percent annual growth rate for 2025 – the highest since Q1 2008.
The outstanding stock of credit reached $38.1 trillion by year-end.
This expansion was primarily fueled by cross-border bank loans, which increased by $584 billion.
Meanwhile, banks' holdings of debt securities also saw rapid growth, maintaining a 12 percent year-on-year growth rate in Q4 2025.
The importance of non-major currencies in cross-border credit has grown, especially for borrowers in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), where their share rose from 21 percent in 2019 to 29 percent in 2025.
Regional credit dynamics and currency flows
Cross-border bank credit to emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) expanded by $42 billion in Q4 2025, bringing its annual growth rate to 7 percent.
This growth was particularly strong in Emerging Europe (26 percent) and Africa and the Middle East (16 percent).
In contrast, credit to China and the rest of emerging Asia and Pacific contracted.
The report also highlights robust growth in foreign currency credit to non-bank borrowers.
US dollar credit expanded 8.5 percent year-on-year to $14.3 trillion, and euro credit grew 11 percent to €4.9 trillion by end-2025.
Both currencies saw significant expansion in EMDEs, with euro-denominated credit to EMDEs nearly doubling over the past decade.
Global liquidity's surprising strength
The robust expansion in cross-border bank credit, especially to EMDEs, signals a surprising resilience in global liquidity despite tighter global financial conditions.
This sustained growth, particularly in non-major currencies, points to evolving funding dynamics and potentially reduced reliance on traditional reserve currencies.
However, the uneven regional credit distribution and contractions in key Asian economies highlight emerging fault lines for financial stability.