AUGUST DECLINE:Deposits at banks’ offshore banking units plunged 7.3 percent to 49.79 billion yuan and fell 2 percent to 277.15 billion yuan at domestic banking units

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 16, 2015
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Yuan deposits at Taiwanese banks fell 2.88 percent to 326.94 billion yuan (US$51.29 billion) last month from July, as the Chinese currency’s widening volatility fueled unease among corporate and individual clients, the central bank said yesterday.

It was the second consecutive month of decline and the fastest pace of retreat since Taiwan allowed yuan deposits in February last year, the central bank said.

“Taiwanese companies and individuals turned more cautious about yuan holdings after seeing wide swings in the wake of the fixing reform,” a central bank official said.

The People’s Bank of China on Aug. 11 cut the official guidance rate for the yuan by 1.9 percent to 6.2298 per US dollar, from 6.1162 the previous day.

Some pundits saw the change as an effort by China to boost its exports amid a global economic slowdown, while others saw it as a move to push for the yuan’s inclusion in the IMF’s reserve currency basket.      [FULL  STORY]