Finance commitments shrank in Feb: ABS

Both personal and commercial finance commitments declined in February from the month before, when adjusted for seasonality, according to ABS statistics.

Adjusted personal finance commitments fell 3.5% to $13.16 billion, while commercial finance commitments shrank 6.6% to $28.65 billion.

Fixed lending commitments when seasonally adjusted fell 5% for personal finance and 0.5% for commercial finance, while revolving credit facilities declined by a respective 1.6% and 1.3%.

Owner-occupied housing finance commitments also fell 4.8% to $13.16 billion, and lease finance declined 10.4% to $385 million.

ABS said it was unable to quantify the specific impact of the December and January flooding on lending during the month, but said the collection of data used to compile the statistics was not disrupted.

Without seasonal adjustments, commercial finance commitments were flat month-on-month while personal finance commitments declined by a more modest 2.3%.

Likewise, housing finance was down 1% and lease finance by 0.9%.