5671.0 - Lending Finance, Australia, Oct 2003  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 12/12/2003   
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FEATURE ARTICLE - INTRODUCTION OF CONCURRENT SEASONAL ADJUSTMENT


OCTOBER KEY FIGURES


TREND ESTIMATES
% change
Sep 2003
Oct 2003
Sep 2003 to
$m
$m
Oct 2003

Housing finance for owner occupation
11,365
11,631
2.3
Personal finance
6,767
6,936
2.5
Commercial finance
24,862
26,098
5.0
Lease finance
574
589
2.6

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
% change
Sep 2003
Oct 2003
Sep 2003 to
$m
$m
Oct 2003

Housing finance for owner occupation
11,536
11,620
0.7
Personal finance
6,884
6,986
1.5
Commercial finance
23,714
29,555
24.6
Lease finance
553
628
13.7



Graph - Personal finance
Graph - Commercial finance

OCTOBER KEY POINTS


HOUSING FINANCE FOR OWNER OCCUPATION
  • The total value of owner-occupied housing commitments (seasonally adjusted) increased by 0.7% in October 2003. The trend series increased by 2.3% in October.

PERSONAL FINANCE
  • Total personal finance commitments (seasonally adjusted) rose by 1.5% in October 2003, following a 4.2% rise in September. Increases were recorded in both fixed lending (up 2.7%) and revolving credit commitments (up 0.6%) in October.
  • The total personal trend series continued to grow, rising by 2.5% in October 2003. The trend estimates for fixed and revolving commitments increased by 1.8% and 3.0% respectively.

COMMERCIAL FINANCE
  • Total commercial finance commitments (seasonally adjusted) increased by 24.6% in October 2003, due to a 5.9% rise in the fixed lending series and a 63.8% rise in the revolving credit series in October. The large rise in the revolving credit series was due to a transfer of a large revolving credit balance from a registered financial corporation to a bank.
  • The purchase of dwellings by individuals for rent and resale (seasonally adjusted) increased by 3.7% in October 2003, the sixth consecutive monthly rise.
  • The trend series for total commercial finance increased by 5.0% in October 2003. The fixed lending trend rose by 3.5%, and the revolving credit trend rose by 7.5%.

LEASE FINANCE
  • Lease finance (seasonally adjusted) increased by 13.7% in October 2003, following a 4.6% fall in September.
  • The lease finance trend rose by 2.6% in October 2003.

NOTES


CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

From this issue, the concurrent seasonal adjustment methodology has replaced the forward factor approach used up until now. New seasonal factors based on the
concurrent adjustment method have been incorporated, resulting in revisions to all seasonally adjusted and trend series.


A note showing the impacts of the change in methodology on the series in this publication is available on the ABS website (www.abs.gov.au) by selecting Products &
Information, 5671.0, and by clicking on AusStats.


New forward factors will be generated each month under the concurrent adjustment method. The new forward factors are available as an additional table on AusStats.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS


HOUSING FINANCE FOR OWNER OCCUPATION

The total value of commitments (seasonally adjusted) increased by 0.7% in October 2003. The trend series continued its run of increases since September 2000, with the monthly increase of 2.3% influenced by the strength in the seasonally adjusted series in previous months.

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

PERSONAL FINANCE

Total personal finance commitments (seasonally adjusted) rose by 1.5% to $6 986 million in October 2003. Revolving credit commitments continued to grow, rising by 0.6% to $3 955 million in October, following a 5.1% increase in September. Fixed lending commitments increased by 2.7% to $3 031 million in October.

The total personal finance commitments trend series increased by 2.5% in October 2003. The revolving credit trend series increased by 3.0%, while the fixed lending series rose by 1.8% in October.

COMMERCIAL FINANCE

Total commercial finance commitments (seasonally adjusted) grew by 24.6% to $29 555 million in October 2003. This increase was driven by rises in fixed lending (up 5.9%) and
revolving credit (up 63.8%, following a transfer of a large revolving credit balance from a registered financial corporation to a bank).


The purchase of dwellings for rent or resale by individuals (seasonally adjusted) increased 3.7% in October 2003 to reach $6 100 million. The trend for this series rose by
3.8% in October, continuing the growth evident since November 2001.


In original terms, commercial finance for housing (including finance for construction and finance for rent or resale) was 34.3% higher in October 2003 compared with October
2002, while housing for owner occupation (including alterations and additions) increased by 35.2% over the same period.




Graph - Purchase of Dwellings by Individuals for Rent or Resale
LEASE FINANCE

In seasonally adjusted terms, the volatile lease finance series increased by 13.7% to $628 million in October 2003, after a 4.6% fall in September. The lease finance trend series grew by 2.6% in October 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.