Capital Briefs: U.S. Banks' Foreign Exposure Dipped 0.4% in 2Q

U.S. banks trimmed their foreign loan exposure by 0.4% during the second quarter, to $501.6 billion, according to a report released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Board.

Movement among the Group of 10 industrialized countries and Switzerland, the largest category at $306.2 billion, was pronounced. Exposure to Japan decreased by 16.7%, to $32.6 billion; and to France by 15%, to $33.4 billion. But exposure to Germany rose by 20.3%, to $78 billion; and to the United Kingdom by 15.6%, to $50.1 billion.

For developed countries not included in the G-10 group, such as Australia and South Africa, exposure was trimmed 2.1%, to $61.7 billion. Exposure to Latin American and Caribbean countries dipped 2.7%, to $65.1 billion. It also dropped 2.2% in Asia, to $34.6 billion. Exposure to African countries increased 32%, to $2.2 billion. The data cover 109 banks.