Deposits continue to rise faster than loans on banks' balance sheets, despite commentary that received wide coverage late last week that suggested otherwise.The latest Reserve Bank and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority statistics, released on Friday, show that lenders' mortgage balances grew by 5.4 per cent in 2013 (APRA's figure is 5.7 per cent) - the highest annual growth rate since late 2011.In a review of the data, CommSec noted that term deposit balances fell in December - the first fall for over a decade.CommSec suggested that savers might be switching out of deposits, in response to low rates, and looking for higher returns in equities and property.If this were the case, it would be a problem for banks and other lenders, which have become increasingly reliant on deposits to fund their lending activity.But the evidence is not conclusive. While the RBA figures did show a 50 basis point fall in term deposit balances in December, they also showed a two per cent increase in "other deposits with banks" in the same month.It may be equally valid to assume that savers are switching from term deposits to high yield at-call accounts and that savings rates remain high.The APRA figures support this view. They show that household savings balances increased by 1.4 per cent in December, and by 9.1 per cent in the year to December.Authorised deposit-taking institutions with above average deposit inflows in December include AMP Bank, whose deposit balance increased by 4.9 per cent, Citibank (up 3.3 per cent), Arab Bank (up 2.6 per cent), Bank of Sydney (up two per cent), NAB (up 1.9 per cent), Commonwealth Bank (up 1.6 per cent) and ANZ (1.5 per cent).Westpac's household deposit balance increased by 1.4 per cent in December.