Deposits flat in May

Households may be finding uses for their savings other than slapping them into a bank account, with virtually no growth reported in bank deposits over the month of May 2010, monthly data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows.

Investment in other asset classes is the usual explanation though the equity market is unlikely to have pulled in many new believers of late, so perhaps an accelerated pay down of household debt is beginning to emerge (and consistent with recent rises in interest rates).

Among the major deposit takers Commonwealth Bank and Westpac recorded growth of around 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent. NAB recorded a decline of 0.3 per cent and ANZ a decline of 0.5 per cent.

The reported decline in deposits for NAB over the month might be the biggest surprise. Over three months the bank recorded growth in household deposits of 1.5 per cent, only a little higher than growth across all banks of 1.4 per cent. Over six months NAB recorded 4.3 per cent, compared with growth for all banks of 3.3 per cent.

The loss of the market leading rate at the bank's UBank brand, reported in the prior article, might be one factor in the outflow in May.

However, the bank's leadership in pricing of everyday accounts, unveiled in mid 2009 and implemented later in 2009, was presumably based on the bank's prospects of generating sustained, above-system inflows in deposits.

NAB and also ANZ are, however, reporting growth in home loans above the rest of the banking system at 1.3 per cent each, compared with average growth for all banks of 0.8 per cent, over the month of May.

ANZ is growing its home loan book on a more consistent basis than NAB, however.

There is still no real evidence of a slowdown in the growth of Westpac's home loan book in spite of its status as the most expensive lender. Westpac's growth over the month was 0.8 per cent, and only just below system growth. Over three months and six months, growth was above system.