French banks reduce overseas lending

French banks cut their overseas lending by almost $200bn in the final quarter of last year, adding to an even sharper retreat in the previous three months and highlighting the scale of their loan pull-back, international lending data show.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which charts cross-border borrowing, said French banks cut their cross-border lending by $197bn (€158bn) or 5.3% in the fourth quarter.

That followed an even steeper drop of 7.1% in the previous quarter, the sharpest fall by French banks for at least 12 years, the BIS said.