Credit reaches $2.502 trillion in Dec

Credit in the Australian economy rose by $14bn to $2.502 trillion in December, RBA figures, say, but growth in investor housing credit slowed.

The pool of credit sloshing around in the Australian economy grew $14 billion deeper in December, reaching $2.502 trillion.

The figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia on Friday also showed loans to home buyers rose by $9 billion to $1.524 trillion in December, with annual growth picking up from 6.5 per cent to 6.8 per cent.

The widely watched investor component of housing credit expanded only 0.4 per cent in December, the slowest monthly rise in over four years, cutting the annual growth rate from 9.1 per cent to 8.5 per cent, well below the 10 per cent guideline for individual lenders set by Australian Prudential Regulation Authority a little over a year ago.