In Brief: U.S. Banks Raised Credit to Asia in 4th Quarter

Money-center banks increased credit to borrowers in Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia in the fourth quarter, the Federal Reserve Board said Wednesday.

BankAmerica Corp., Bankers Trust Corp., Chase Manhattan Corp., Citicorp, First Chicago NBD Corp., and J.P. Moran & Co. were owed $27.6 billion by borrowers in these three countries as of Dec. 31.

That is up $2.5 billion from the third quarter, the Fed said in its Country Exposure Lending Survey.

All U.S. banks were owed $34.1 billion by borrowers in Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia as of Dec. 31. Borrowers in all of Asia owed U.S. banks $54.9 billion.

This is up slightly from the Fed's third-quarter survey, which found U.S. banks were owed $32.9 billion by borrowers in Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia, and $54.3 billion by all of Asia.

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