International finance through the lens of BIS statistics: the international dimensions of credit

International sources of credit can be a boon to borrower countries in need of capital. But they can also be destabilising by enabling domestic credit booms. Before the global financial crisis (GFC), internationally active banks drove credit growth by lending both across borders as well as locally in the host countries where they operated. Since the GFC, borrowers have increasingly turned to international bond markets. This article shows how BIS statistics can help disentangle the various international dimensions of credit to borrower economies and describes the role of foreign banks and international bond markets in the credit provision process.