illustrates the foreign assets held by banks of different nations. The major role of the United Kingdom and the United States in international banking is obvious. Note that the figure distinguishes between bank assets, including interbank claims and credit extended to nonbanks. Interbank claims are deposits held in banks in other countries. If we want to know the actual amount of credit extended to nonbank borrowers, we must remove the interbank activity. Figure 5.2 illustrates the huge size of the interbank market in international finance. An exam- ple of interbank deposits versus credit extended to nonbanks is provided later in the chapter.