GLOSSARY

Agricultural machinery and equipment

Includes tractors, tillage implements, seeding, planting and fertilising equipment, agricultural mowers, harvesters, etc.

Alterations and additions

Comprises all structural and non-structural changes which are integral to the functional and structural design of a dwelling. Examples are garages, carports, pergolas, reroofing, recladding, etc. Alterations and additions do not include swimming pools, ongoing repairs, or maintenance and home improvements which do not involve building work.

Commitment

Is a firm offer of finance. It either has been, or is normally expected to be, accepted. Commitments accepted and cancelled in the same month are included. Commitments to non-residents are excluded.

Construction and earth moving equipment

Includes concrete mixers and pumpers, dozers, graders, mobile cranes, crawler tractors, dumpers, road rollers, earth packers, scarifiers, rippers, etc.

Construction of dwellings

For owner occupation, comprises commitments made to individuals to finance, by way of progress payments, the construction of owner occupied dwellings.

For commercial finance construction of dwellings for rental or resale, comprises commitments made to corporations to finance the construction of dwellings to be occupied by persons other than the owner(s).

Debt consolidation

For personal finance, comprises commitments whose principle purpose is to consolidate and pay out amounts owing by the borrower to third parties.

Dwelling

Is a single self-contained place of residence such as a detached or semidetached house, a terrace house, a flat, home unit, town house, etc. which includes bathing and cooking facilities.

Electronic data processing equipment

Includes computers, computer peripherals, data entry devices, word processing machines, etc.

Established dwelling

Is a dwelling that has been completed for 12 months or more prior to the lodgement of a loan application, or has been previously occupied.

Finance lease

Refers to the leasing or hiring of tangible assets under an agreement, other than a hire purchase agreement, which substantially transfers from the lessor to the lessee all the risks and benefits incident to ownership of the asset without transferring the legal ownership.

Fixed loans

Generally involve:

• a commitment for a fixed amount for a fixed period for a specific purpose
• a schedule of repayments over a fixed period
• repayments which reduce the liability of the borrower but do not act to make further finance available.

Heavy trucks

Comprises all vehicles with a gross combination mass rating in excess of 3.5 tonnes, including prime movers registered without trailers.

Light trucks

Comprises vehicles constructed primarily for the carriage of goods which do not exceed 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass such as utilities, panel vans, trucks, cab-chassis, forward control vans and four-wheel drives used to carry goods.

Manufacturing equipment

Includes all plant and equipment used in the manufacture of goods except motor vehicles such as forklifts, work trucks and tractors.

Motor cars and station wagons

Includes cars, station wagons, four-wheel drive and forward control passenger vehicles with up to nine seats (including the driver).

Motorcycles

Includes two and three wheeled motorcycles and mopeds, scooters and motorcycles with side cars.

New dwelling

Is a dwelling that has been completed within 12 months of the lodgement of a loan application, and the borrower will be the first occupant.

Office machines

Includes telephone systems (including PABX equipment), facsimile machines, cash registers, photocopiers, etc.

Purpose

Of the loan is that specified by the borrower. Where possible multiple purpose loans are split and each component is reported in the appropriate purpose category. Otherwise the whole loan is classified to the major purpose.

Real Property

Comprises both residential and non-residential land, buildings and fixed structures.

Refinancing

For personal and commercial finance, represents a commitment to refinance an existing loan. For secured housing finance, only those loans where the refinancing lender is a different lender and the security is unchanged are included. The refinancing of a loan to fund a change of residence is treated as a new lending commitment.

Revolving credit

Generally has the following characteristics:

• a commitment for a credit or borrowing limit is given for a specific period after which the commitment is reviewed
• the extent of the borrowing used at any time during the period may be for any amount up to the authorised limit
• repayments (other than of charges and interest) made during the period reduce the extent of the borrowing used and thereby increase the amount of unused credit available up to the authorised limit. Examples include credit cards, lines of credit and approved overdrafts.

Secured credit limits

Includes overdrafts, lines of credit, credit cards, etc. backed by a mortgage or other assets owned by the borrower.

Secured housing finance

Comprises all secured commitments to individuals for the construction or purchase of dwellings for owner occupation, regardless of type of security. Commitments for housing that will be occupied by persons other than the owner(s) are excluded.

Total credit limits at end of month

Comprises total approved credit limits available at the end of the reference month. In principle, this can be derived by adding new and increased lending commitments during the month less cancellations and reductions of credit limits during the month to the balance of credit limits at the end of the previous month. In practice, however, revisions and other adjustments (such as the transfer of an existing fixed credit facility) will mean that such a derivation is inexact.

Wholesale finance

Comprises finance for the purchase of goods by retailers and wholesalers.

Wholesale lenders

A wholesale lender provides funds to borrowers through a retail intermediary which may then also be responsible for the ongoing relationship with the borrower. The Wholesale Lenders n.e.c. series almost exclusively comprises securitisation vehicles (typically special purpose trusts) established to issue mortgage backed securities. It excludes funds provided where a bank or permanent building society, acting as a wholesale provider of funds, remains the lender on the contract. Those commitments are published as bank or permanent building society commitments.