Monthly Authorised Deposit Institution Statistics - December 2021

A large jump in household savings in December once again follows a familiar pattern established durning lockdowns. This time around there is a difference, in that there isn't an actual lockdown. Commentary has suggested that this "self-imposed" lockdown is milder, but that doesn't seem to match what we're seeing in this data point.

This is particularly important because, unlike the government lockdowns, the December savings come with less government support for individuals. The savings would therefore need to come out of restricted spending. It's going to be an important measure to watch in the next couple of months.

There was also a 0.6% rise in investor loan balances in December. This is the largest increase we've seen during the pandemic, and, if sustained, would be over 8% annualised. This is, of course, a measure that APRA would watch closely to determine whether to add lending controls. So far in this cycle, investor credit lending has been subdued, but if numbers like December's become a trend, APRA may start looking to temper the growth.