Hoard games

25 July 2012 By Martin Hutchinson

Over $12 trln was held in the top tax haven private banks in 2010, a 63 pct increase from 2005, says a new study by an advocacy group. Meanwhile, central bank foreign exchange reserves grew twice as fast. Bad policy fueled both and helps explain sagging economies.

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International client assets of the top 50 private banks increased from about $7.5 trillion in December 2005 to $12.3 trillion in December 2010, a 63 percent increase, according to a study released on July 21 by the Tax Justice Network, a group that advocates against tax avoidance.

Based on the IMF’s “Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves” data, total official foreign exchange reserves of reporting countries increased from $4.3 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2005 to $9.3 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2010, an increase of 114 percent.

Nominal global GDP grew from $45.7 trillion in 2005 to $63.1 trillion in 2010, an increase of 38 percent.

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