Household deposits continue to climb but pace is slowing

Household deposits are continuing to rise, increasing by over $7 billion in the month of October and setting yet another record high at over $1.42 trillion.

APRA’s monthly authorised deposit-taking institution statistics, released today for the month of October, shows despite increased cost of living pressures, Australians are continuing to stash their cash in the bank, with more than $99 billion extra in the bank compared to the same time last year.

However, despite another record high, the growth in household deposits has slowed over the last three months.

Note: deposits from households includes term deposits, transaction accounts, mortgage offset accounts and savings accounts.

Total deposits by households, October 2023

Source: APRA monthly authorised deposit-taking institution statistics.

Loans to households: owner-occupier and investor

Total loans to households increased again, rising by 0.37 per cent from the previous month to a total of $2.14 trillion in mortgages with the authorised deposit taking institutions (ADIs).

Australia’s largest bank, CBA, reported a small increase to its loan book of 0.01 per cent, after three consecutive months of decreases. While the bank’s mortgage book is back to growing in the right direction, this month’s rise is significantly smaller than the other major banks.

Westpac’s loan book grew by 0.37 per cent, NAB by 0.45 per cent and ANZ by 0.71 per cent. Notably, Macquarie Bank continued to post yet another strong gain this month, rising by 1.21 per cent.

Big four banks + Macquarie: loans to households, housing

Source: APRA. *Authorised deposit-taking institutions.

Note: loans to households: housing is total of both owner-occupier and investor loans as recorded by APRA.

RateCity.com.au research director, Sally Tindall, said: “Australians continued to stash their spare cash in the month of October, with the value of household deposits increasing by over $7 billion to a new record high of $1.42 trillion.”

“Part of this could well have been the calm before the four-day Black Friday storm, over which NAB predicts Australians splashed more than $8.7 billion,” she said.

“While money in the bank has increased since July of this year, over the last three months the pace of growth has slowed as households eat further into their spare cash to keep up with the rising cost of rents, mortgages and everyday living.

“These totals, of course, do not tell the whole story. For many families under severe financial stress, it’s not spare cash they’re eating into, but rather what they have left of their life savings.

“On the mortgage front, the total value of residential home loans on the books of the nation’s banks grew by 0.37 per cent as Australia’s property market continued to pick up steam.

“After three consecutive months of drops, CBA has managed to plug the leak in its mortgage book, posting its first increase since June. While CBA has said it’s prepared to turn its back on competition in the refinance market, at the very least, its loan book is now moving in the right direction.

“The bank’s 0.01 per cent increase to its residential mortgage book in October is well behind its big bank competitors, particularly ANZ which has posted yet another notable increase of 0.71 per cent, no doubt spurred on by its cashback offers still in the market.

“The November RBA rate rise will spur on borrowers to seek rate relief over the summer. This will continue to put pressure on those banks chasing market share to plate up competitive deals to potential new customers,” she said.

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