The Portuguese central bank says it has added Macao and Mozambique to its list of jurisdictions outside the European Union where Portuguese banks, in calculating their countercyclical reserves, must take into consideration their direct exposure to the non-financial private sector.

A written announcement issued by the Bank of Portugal on Wednesday says countercyclical reserves are meant to make the Portuguese banking industry more resilient in the event of credit increasing excessively.

The list will stay unchanged until at least next June, the central bank says.

A Portuguese state-owned bank, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, owns Banco Nacional Ultramarino SA (BNU), one of just two banks allowed to issue Macao pataca banknotes.