5671.0 - Lending Finance, Australia, May 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/07/2004   
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MAY KEY FIGURES

Apr 2004
May 2004
Apr 2004 to May 2004
$m
$m
% change

TREND ESTIMATES
Housing finance for owner occupation
9,697
9,721
0.2
Personal finance
6,652
6,689
0.5
Commercial finance
23,812
24,054
1.0
Lease finance
502
499
-0.5
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES
Housing finance for owner occupation
9,970
9,851
-1.2
Personal finance
6,735
6,763
0.4
Commercial finance
26,023
23,449
-9.9
Lease finance
507
497
-2.1

Personal finance
Graph: Personal finance

Commercial finance
Graph: Commercial finance



MAY KEY POINTS


HOUSING FINANCE FOR OWNER OCCUPATION

  • The total value of owner-occupied housing commitments decreased by 1.2% (seasonally adjusted) in May 2004. The trend series increased by 0.2%.


PERSONAL FINANCE
  • The seasonally adjusted series for total personal finance commitments rose by 0.4% in May 2004. The fixed lending series increased by 1.5% and revolving credit commitments decreased by 0.3%.
  • The total personal finance trend series increased by 0.5% in May 2004.


COMMERCIAL FINANCE
  • The total commercial finance series (seasonally adjusted) declined by 9.9% in May 2004, returning to recent historical levels after a large rise in the revolving credit component in April. Fixed lending rose by 0.3%.
  • The revised purchase of dwellings by individuals for rent and resale (seasonally adjusted) series decreased by 4.4% in May 2004, after remaining steady in April 2004.
  • The trend series for total commercial finance increased by 1.0% in May 2004, after five consecutive monthly decreases. Increases were recorded in fixed lending (up 0.4%) and revolving credit (up 2.4%) in May.


LEASE FINANCE
  • Lease finance (seasonally adjusted) decreased by 2.1% in May 2004.
  • The lease finance trend fell by 0.5% in May 2004, the seventh consecutive monthly decrease.


NOTES

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

There has been a significant reclassification of housing finance commitments to investment housing from owner occupied housing for all bank and total lender series in most States and Territories for the period August 2003 to March 2004. Revisions put through for August 2003 to February 2004 for the number and value of owner occupied housing commitments by purpose and type of loan have been imputed by the ABS based on aggregate estimates by State provided by the reporting banks, with these estimates expected to be replaced by final values in the July 2004 issue. Revisions for the March 2004 reference month do not contain imputations.


Revolving credit limits for personal finance commitments (Table 5) as at the end of May 2004 have been rebased upwards due to previous incorrect reporting by a significant lender. No adjustments were made to earlier periods' commitments advanced or cancelled.



INQUIRIES

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



LENDING FINANCE SUMMARY OF FINDINGS


HOUSING FINANCE FOR OWNER OCCUPATION

The total value of commitments excluding alterations and additions (seasonally adjusted) decreased by 1.2% in May 2004. The trend series increased by 0.2%.


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



PERSONAL FINANCE

The seasonally adjusted series for total personal finance rose by 0.4% to $6 763 million in May 2004, the third monthly rise. Fixed lending increased by 1.5% and revolving credit commitments decreased by 0.3%.


The total personal finance commitments trend series increased by 0.5% in May 2004. The trend for revolving credit and fixed lending trend commitments increased by 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.


In original terms, fixed lending commitments increased by 7.9%, to $2 827 million in May 2004.



COMMERCIAL FINANCE

The seasonally adjusted total commercial finance series decreased by 9.9% in May 2004. Revolving credit commitments fell by 27.3%, while fixed lending commitments recorded a small increase of 0.3%.


The total commercial finance trend estimate increased by 1.0% in May 2004. The fixed lending trend rose by 0.4%, and the revolving credit trend increase by 2.4%.


The revised seasonally adjusted purchase of dwellings for rent or resale by individuals series decreased to $4 705 million (down 4.4%) in May 2004, after remaining steady in April 2004. The trend series fell by 1.4% in May, the seventh consecutive monthly decline but at a decelerating rate.

Purchase of Dwellings by Individuals for Rent or Resale
Graph: Purchase of Dwellings by Individuals for Rent or Resale




LEASE FINANCE

In seasonally adjusted terms, the lease finance series decreased by 2.1% to $497 million in May 2004, following a 5.1% decrease in the previous month. The lease finance trend series fell by 0.5%, the seventh successive monthly decrease.