Financial Aggregates December 2009

Total credit provided to the private sector by financial intermediaries rose by 0.3 per cent over December 2009, following an increase of 0.1 per cent over November. Over the year to December, total credit rose by 1.5 per cent.

Housing credit increased by 0.7 per cent over December, following an increase of 0.7 per cent over November. Over the year to December, housing credit rose by 8.2 per cent. Housing credit rose over December due to growth in lending to both owner-occupiers and investors.

Other personal credit rose by 0.7 per cent over December, following a rise of 0.5 per cent over November. Over the year to December, other personal credit fell by 0.4 per cent.

Business credit declined by 0.2 per cent over December 2009, following a decline of 1.0 per cent over November. Over the year to December, business credit declined by 7.0 per cent.

Over the month of December, M3 fell by 0.6 per cent and broad money declined by 0.7 per cent. Over the year to December, broad money grew by 4.5 per cent.

All growth rates for the financial aggregates are seasonally adjusted, and adjusted for the effects of breaks in the series as recorded in the footnotes to tables. Figures showing the levels of financial aggregates are not adjusted for series breaks. Historical levels and growth rates for the financial aggregates have been revised owing to the resubmission of data by some financial intermediaries, the re-estimation of seasonal factors and the incorporation of securitisation data.