(1888PressRelease)
September 08, 2007 - Recently released figures have served to highlight the extent to which Japan and China have been exposed to the US sub-prime sector fallout that has rippled through global markets.
However, despite the fact that international banks, including the Bank of China, Australia's Macquarie and Mitsubishi in Japan, have provided details of their exposure, banks in Britain have so far refrained from making any form of official statement.
Indeed, this has led a number of analysts to call for more information to be provided by British banks in line with their foreign counterparts.
"We are suffering from a lack of transparency to help form an understanding of how serious the problems are," a senior fund manager told the Guardian.
"The banks have to disclose their best estimates of how big the problems are. I look forward to seeing that in the next three or four weeks."
A second commentator told the same publication that without this information, regular service will not be resumed.
"The regulators need to force the banks into making disclosures. Until we have got that, markets cannot start to operate normally," the source said.
Japanese regional banks, meanwhile, have not been so reticent. Eight major Japanese banking groups - including Mitsubishi UJF Financial Group - have announced losses associated with US subprime loan-related investment that so far amounts to a combined total of around JPY20 billion (£86 million).
What's more, a survey conducted by Nikkei business daily estimates Japanese regional banks and banking groups have lost around JPY5.4 billion (£23 million) as a result of US subprime mortgage sector investment, with 23 regional banks and banking groups out of 109 deemed to be exposed to risk.
The effects of the US subprime mortgage turmoil on Japanese markets has been discussed at the highest level, with the minutes of the July meeting of the policy board of the Bank of Japan revealing that concerns were expressed by members about the impact of the crisis in the eastern sphere.
In fact, the concerns carried over to August, as the much-mooted interest rate rise was put on hold to ensure that the Japanese economy continued its recovery.
The board instead agreed to "adjust the level of interest rates gradually, in accordance with improvements in the economic and price situation," the minutes state.
"Members shared the view concerning the outlook for the US economy that, although it was likely to realise a soft landing toward the year-end, both upside and downside risks continued to warrant attention," the minutes further.
Indeed, a worldwide recession was even predicted should the subprime mortgage crisis seriously affect the credit markets.
Chinese banks have also been exposed to US subprime problems, with both the Bank of China and Industrial & Commercial Bank - two of China's biggest banks - admitting that they had suffered greater losses than first envisaged.
Although both were keen to play down their relevance of their exposure, the banks confessed that they held around $11 billion (£5.45 million) in subprime mortgage-related assets.
However, their assurances were not enough to prevent a slide in the Asian markets.
The Chinese government has also been making soothing noises having assured the local press that foreign reserves are not tied up in the US subprime mortgage sector, but instead mainly invested in US Treasury bonds.
British banks, though, remain reluctant to share the extent to which they are exposed - although it is clear that the credit market squeeze, caused by a fear that US sub - prime mortgage losses will reduce lending, is impacting severely on lenders.
Barclays made use of the Bank of England's emergency overnight funds twice last month, despite the negative publicity that comes with resorting to the practice.
What's more, Tim Bond, the London-based head of global asset allocation at Barclays Plc's securities unit, believes the shortage of funds in global money markets is getting worse - suggesting that the full effects of the fall-out have yet to be felt.
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