New Lending Activity (Coverage Collection)

NAME OF ORGANISATION
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

OVERVIEW
The annual New Lending Activity Collection requests data from all non-banks which form the frame of the four monthly Financial Surveys (Housing finance, Personal finance, Commercial finance, and Leasing finance). Since all banks are completely enumerated in all monthly collections, the sum of their returns over the relevant twleve months reference period is used.

Information is provided regarding lending activity over the previous calendar year, by state and type of lending activity.

PURPOSE
The New Lending Activity Collection seeks information which will form the basis for selecting the new sample of businesses for the four monthly Lending Activity surveys (Housing Finance, Personal Finance, Commercial Finance and Lease Finance). A new sample is selected each year, and retained for 12 months, such that at least 95% of total (Australian) lending activity for the previous year is covered, as well as at least 90% of the previous year's state level activity. Where the monthly surveys publish lending activity of a specific sub-population of lender-type, coverage of at least 70% of the published lender type is sought.

SCOPE
The survey population is all Australian-resident lending institutions.

The survey frame which seeks to cover the survey population comprises all banks authorised under the Banking Act of 1959, all lending institutions bound by the Financial Corporations Act (FCA) of 1974, and may be supplemented by other known significant lending institutions such as insurance companies and superannuation funds, general government enterprises, securitisers (referred to as wholesale lenders), and institutions subject to state government regulation. This description of the frame includes credit unions and permanent building societies.

A supplementary list of businesses which have received a New Lending Activity form in the past, but have reported no lending activity, is also kept.

The frame coverage is conceptually good for banks and financial institutions subject to the FCA, where we are informed by the Reserve Bank of any additions to the frame. For other lending institutions where no definitive lists exist, we rely on the success of media scans and other sources to maintain frame coverage.

DATA DETAIL

Conceptual framework
The New Lending Activity collection measures four categories of lending activity over the previous calendar year. These categories of lending activity are as follows:

1. Secured Housing Finance for owner occupation, which is secured finance to individuals for the purchase /construction of dwellings for owner occupation, and for alterations and additions to existing owner-occupied dwellings . Refinancing where the lender is changed is also included.
2. Personal Finance, which is finance provided to individuals for personal non-business use (includes both fixed loans and revolving credit). Finance used for investment purposes is excluded (included in commercial finance) and secured housing finance is excluded (included in secured housing finance).
3. Commercial finance, which is finance provided to businesses or individuals for business or investment purposes. (includes fixed loans, revolving credit, hire purchase).
4. Lease Finance, which is finance provided to businesses or individuals for the purpose of entering into a leasing arrangement (either finance or operating lease, but not leveraged leases).

Classifications
State (standard classification).
Lender type (Banks. Permanent Building Societies, Credit Unions, Wholesale Lenders nec, Finance Cos, General Financiers, Other Lenders).

Other concepts (summary)


GEOGRAPHIC DETAIL
Australia
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
Tasmania
Northern Territory
ACT

Comments and/or Other Regions


COLLECTION FREQUENCY
Annually

Frequency comments


COLLECTION HISTORY
Undertaken annually since 1985

DATA AVAILABILITY
No