5671.0 - Lending Finance, Australia, Dec 2003  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 16/02/2004   
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DECEMBER KEY FIGURES

TREND ESTIMATES
% change
Nov 2003
Dec 2003
Nov 2003 to
$m
$m
Dec 2003
Housing finance for owner occupation
11,228
11,146
–0.7
Personal finance
6,882
6,920
0.5
Commercial finance
26,263
26,830
2.2
Lease finance
593
600
1.1
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
% change
Nov 2003
Dec 2003
Nov 2003 to
$m
$m
Dec 2003
Housing finance for owner occupation
10,981
10,710
–2.5
Personal finance
6,846
6,769
–1.1
Commercial finance
24,327
26,592
9.3
Lease finance
626
541
–13.5

Graph - Personal Finance, Trend and Seasonally Adjusted Graph - Commercial Finance, Trend and Seasonally Adjusted

DECEMBER KEY POINTS


HOUSING FINANCE FOR OWNER OCCUPATION
  • The total value of owner-occupied housing commitments decreased by 2.5% (seasonally adjusted) in December 2003. The trend series decreased by 0.7%.

PERSONAL FINANCE
  • The seasonally adjusted series for total personal finance commitments fell by 1.1% in December 2003, due to a fall in revolving credit commitments (down 2.1%).
  • The total personal finance trend series continued to rise, increasing by 0.5% in December, although its growth rate is slowing. The fixed lending and revolving credit series increased by 0.5% and 0.6% respectively.

COMMERCIAL FINANCE
  • The total commercial finance series (seasonally adjusted) rose 9.3% in December 2003, after a large fall in the revolving credit component of 38.2% in November which returned this series to its historical levels. Fixed lending increased by 11.3%.
  • The purchase of dwellings by individuals for rent and resale (seasonally adjusted) decreased by 3.8% in December 2003, the second monthly decrease following rises in the previous six months.
  • The trend series for total commercial finance increased by 2.2% in December 2003. Increases were recorded in fixed lending (up 2.8%) and revolving credit (up 1.0%).

LEASE FINANCE
  • Lease finance (seasonally adjusted) decreased by 13.5% in December 2003, following rises in the previous two months.
  • The lease finance trend rose by 1.1% in December 2003.

NOTES


CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

There are no changes in this issue.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS


HOUSING FINANCE FOR OWNER OCCUPATION

The total value of commitments excluding alterations and additions (seasonally adjusted) decreased by 2.5% in December 2003, after a decrease of 3.4% in November. The trend series decreased by 0.7% in December.

For further information refer to Housing Finance For Owner Occupation, Australia (cat. no. 5609.0).

PERSONAL FINANCE

The seasonally adjusted series for total personal finance fell by 1.1% to $6 769 million in December 2003, a second monthly fall after increases in the previous six months. Fixed lending increased slightly by 0.1%. Personal revolving credit commitments decreased by 2.1% in December.

The total personal finance commitments trend series increased by 0.5% in December 2003. The trend for revolving credit commitments increased by 0.6%, while the fixed lending trend grew by 0.5%.

In original terms, fixed lending commitments increased by 4.4% to $2 908 million in December 2003, largely driven by the increase in motor vehicles financing (up $65.7 million).

COMMERCIAL FINANCE

The seasonally adjusted total commercial finance series increased by 9.3% in December 2003, after a large fall in the revolving credit component of 38.2% in November which returned this series to its historical levels. Fixed lending increased by 11.3%.

The growth in the total commercial finance trend estimate eased to an increase of 2.2% in December 2003. The fixed lending trend rose by 2.8% and the revolving credit commitments trend rose by 1.0%.

The seasonally adjusted purchase of dwellings for rent or resale by individuals (investment housing) series decreased for a second month to $5 534 million (down 3.8%) in December 2003, following six months of strong growth. The growth in the investment housing trend series eased to a rise of 0.1% in December.
Graph - Purchase of Dwellings by Individuals for Rent or Resale, Trend and Seasonally Adjusted

LEASE FINANCE

In seasonally adjusted terms, the lease finance series decreased by 13.5% to $541 million in December 2003, after increases in the previous two months. The lease finance trend series grew by 1.1% in December 2003.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information about these and related statistics, contact Vincent Nguyen on Canberra 02 6252 6398, or the ABS National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.