Business finance has been the outlier in the lending market this year, growing strongly in the face of concerns about rising inflation and interest rates.

According to Reserve Bank lending data, lenders’ business loan books increased by 14.7 per cent over the 12 months to September – the fastest growth in a decade and twice the rate of growth of mortgage balances over the 12 months.

Growth picked up in the September quarter, at 3.8 per cent – an annualised rate of 15.2 per cent.

In its latest Statement on Monetary Policy, the RBA said lending to the property services and finance industries contributed about half the growth in business credit over the past year.

The RBA said: “More broadly, strong economic conditions and the lags associated with financing elevated merger and acquisition activity over the past year have contributed to growth in business credit.

“Businesses have also drawn down on their existing credit facilities in order to manage liquidity challenges arising from supply chain disruptions.”

While business lending has grown strongly, non-financial corporate bond issuance has lagged and is well below the average of recent years. In the three months to the end of October, 16 non-financial corporate bonds were issued, worth a total of A$3.6 billion.

Macquarie Securities analysis of RBA and APRA data, shows all four major banks growing their business lending books below system over the 12 months, with growth of 11.8 per cent for NAB, 12.2 per cent for Westpac, 12.3 per cent for ANZ and 13 per cent for Commonwealth Bank.

Lenders taking share include Macquarie Bank, with growth 19.9 per cent in its book, Judo Bank (64.1 per cent growth) and HSBC (26.7 per cent growth).