## Graying Asia: How Aging Is Reshaping Banking

_IMF Working Papers, July 17, 2026_

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Haibo Li, Estelle X Liu, Yinqiu Lu, Anne Oeking
- Published: July 17, 2026
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229053471.001

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### Summary
- Paper explores how demographic shifts, particularly population aging, are reshaping banking in Asia-Pacific’s bank-dominated financial systems.
- Uses household surveys as well as bank-level and country-level panel data.
- Main empirical finding: aging populations are associated with shifts in bank portfolios away from traditional loans (with lower loan-to-deposit and loan-to-asset ratios), driven by changes in households’ financial behavior.
- Documents effects on banks’ funding structures, profitability, and risk profiles, with implications for financial stability.
- Provides new evidence on cross-border dynamics: demographic divergence spurs asset reallocation toward younger economies.
- Highlights evolving risks and supervisory challenges as demographic transitions unfold unevenly across economies.

### Data and methodology
- Data sources: household surveys; bank-level panel data; country-level panel data.
- Approach: empirical analysis linking demographic indicators (population aging) to bank portfolio composition, funding, profitability, and risk metrics.

### Key empirical findings
- Aging populations are associated with shifts in bank portfolios away from traditional loans.
- Associated portfolio changes include lower loan-to-deposit ratios and lower loan-to-asset ratios.
- Household financial behavior changes are identified as a driver of banks’ portfolio shifts.
- Demographic divergence across countries leads to cross-border asset reallocation toward younger economies.

### Implications for banks and financial stability
- Changes in household behavior and portfolio composition affect banks’ funding structures.
- Profitability and risk profiles of banks are altered as portfolios move away from traditional lending.
- These dynamics carry implications for financial stability in bank-dominated systems.
- Supervisory challenges are likely to evolve as demographic transitions proceed unevenly across economies.

### Geographic and topical scope
- Primary focus: Asia-Pacific bank-dominated financial systems.
- Broader relevance noted for: Europe; Middle East and Central Asia; Sub-Saharan Africa; Global.
- Subjects and keywords include: Aging, Demographic change, Financial institutions, Financial statements, Loans, Population and demographics, Public financial management (PFM), bank balance sheets, bank portfolio, cross-border asset allocation, household financial behavior.

*IMF Working Paper — Graying Asia: How Aging Is Reshaping Banking (Working Paper No. 2026/150, July 17, 2026)*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2026/07/17/graying-asia-how-aging-is-reshaping-banking-577843_