Financial Aggregates April 2002

Credit provided to the private sector by financial intermediaries rose by 1.4 per cent in April, in seasonally adjusted terms, following a rise of 0.8 per cent in March. Total credit rose by 9.3 per cent over the year to April.

In seasonally adjusted terms M3 rose by 1.5 per cent and broad money rose by 1.8 per cent in April. Over the year to April, M3 rose by 15.7 per cent and broad money rose by 12.0 per cent.

Growth rates are reported after adjusting for the effects of the breaks in series recorded in the footnotes to tables. Figures showing the levels of financial aggregates are not adjusted for series breaks.

Changes to Calculation of Financial Aggregates

April 2002 data for the financial aggregates are the first to be calculated on the basis of the new bank reporting forms.

The changes to the forms are designed to harmonise and modernise the collection of data from Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs). The new reporting forms are more closely aligned to ADIs’ own internal processes, and improve the consistency of the treatment of financial products offered by different types of ADIs. The new forms also provide a more detailed sectoral split of assets and liabilities than previously.

Banks, which account for the bulk of ADIs, have submitted data to APRA using the redesigned forms from April 2002. Entities registered under the Financial Corporations Act will continue to provide data on the existing forms until 2003.

To assess the impact of the changed reporting arrangements on the financial aggregates, banks reported March 2002 data using both the old and new forms. Subsequently, the Reserve Bank, along with APRA, met with some large banks to discuss any issues that arose.

As a result of the changes, the levels of a number of financial aggregates for March and April will not be comparable in the published data. These breaks in the series will need to be taken into account when calculating growth rates, as growth rates calculated using the published levels will be misleading. The growth rates published in this Media Release incorporate the necessary adjustments to the series to take account of the changed reporting arrangements. Nevertheless, there may be some increased volatility in growth rates as banks adjust to the new arrangements.

There are also some changes to the monthly financial aggregate data published. A series of “bills on issue” will incorporate the previously published series, “bank bills held by banks”, and “bank bills held outside banks”. Similarly, current deposits with banks that are “non-interest bearing” and “interest bearing” will be combined in a single series.

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