Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth

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National, public and private corporations, government and household financial and capital accounts, and household balance sheets.

Reference period
December 2022
Released
23/03/2023

Key statistics

  • Household wealth fell $57.4b (0.4%) to $14,346b
  • Demand for credit was $63.8b, a fall of $52.4b from the previous quarter
  • Australia returned to a net lending position of $9.9b following a net borrowing position of $13.2b in the previous quarter
  • Capital investment as a proportion of GDP fell to 22.4%

Main features

Financing resources and investment table

Financial market summary table

Flow of funds diagrams

National investment

National investment increased $13.7b to $155.3b in the December quarter.

  • General government investment increased by $3.3b to $24.9b driven largely by increases in total gross fixed capital formation in state and local general government and national general government.
  • Non-financial corporations' investment increased by $3.3b to $72.3b, driven largely by an increase in total gross fixed capital formation in private non-financial corporations, and an increase in change in inventories in public non-financial corporations.
  • Household investment increased $6.8b to $55.0b, predominately driven by an increase in change in inventories, and to a lesser extent an increase in total gross fixed capital formation.

Financial investment

Australia was a net lender of $9.9b to rest of world (ROW). The main contributors were a:

  • $41.5b acquisition by Australia of ROW equity
  • $16.0b repayment of loans borrowed by Australia from ROW
  • Partly offset by $29.0b acquisition by ROW holdings of debt securities, driven mainly by debt securities issued by banks and national general government (NGG)

Acquisition of ROW equity by Australia reflected merger and acquisition activity during the quarter. ROW acquired bank-issued debt securities as banks increased overseas wholesale funding as deposit inflows have slowed.

Households

Households $21.2b net lending position was due to a $56.8b acquisition of financial assets, offset by $35.5b incurrence of liabilities

The acquisition of assets was driven by:

  • $32.5b in deposits 
  • $26.0b in net equity in superannuation.

While liabilities were driven by:

  • $31.7b in loan borrowings

Growth in households’ deposit assets was weaker than the previous quarter as the rising cost of living put pressure on households’ ability to save. Growth in deposit assets favoured term deposit products which have benefitted from higher interest rates. Year-on-year growth in contributions into pension funds reflected growth in employment and the increase to the rate of compulsory superannuation contributions.

Non-financial corporations

Non-financial corporations’ $2.0b net borrowing position was due to $13.6b acquisition of financial assets offset by $15.6b incurrence of liabilities. The acquisition of assets was driven by:

  • $30.4b of equities

Acquisitions of assets were offset by: 

  • $5.5b withdrawal of deposits
  • $5.1b decrease in loans

Liabilities were driven by:

  • $21.6b in equities

Non-financial corporations used previously built-up deposit balances to repay loans with ROW. The acquisition of equities reflects firms’ involvement in merger and acquisition activity. Private non-financial corporations benefitted from strong gross operating surplus, with reinvested earnings increasing firms' equity capital.

General government

General government’s $20.5b net borrowing position was due to a $12.3b disposal of financial assets and $8.2b incurrence of liabilities.

Assets were driven by:

  • $13.8b withdrawals of deposits.

Liabilities were driven by:

  • $8.2b in loans
  • $3.0b issuance of long-term debt securities

Deposits previously placed by state and territory general governments were withdrawn to fund government expenditure. State and territory governments also continued to borrow funds from their respective central borrowing authorities to fund transport and healthcare capital investment. Bond issuance has wound back from pandemic highs as the national general government's financial position improves.

Demand for credit

Demand for credit table

Demand for credit was $63.8b in the December quarter, of which:

  • households borrowed $31.5b
  • other private non-financial corporations borrowed $16.0b
  • general government borrowed $11.2b

Credit market outstanding increased $181.3b (2.1%) of which $117.5b was revaluation gains. Holding gains on the shares of other private non-financial corporations were $110.8b in line with a strong rally in equity prices on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Households

Housing credit growth increased moderately from last quarter which reflected a lift in buyer activity during the Spring housing market. Short term loan borrowing was $1.1b in line with seasonally higher consumer spending in the December quarter. Household borrowing consisted of:

  • $30.6b in long term loans
  • $1.1b in short term loans

Private non-financial corporations

Private non-financial corporations demand for credit was the weakest since June quarter 2021 and was driven by equity raising as companies attracted foreign investment through the ASX. Strong export revenue was also reinvested in foreign-owned resource companies to grow share capital. Business credit growth slowed in the December quarter but has been strong through the year driven by elevated merger and acquisition activity and businesses that drew down on credit facilities to manage liquidity challenges arising from supply chain disruptions. Business borrowing was partly offset by repayment of outstanding loans with the rest of world. The financing activity of businesses comprised:

  • equity raising of $16.7b
  • loan borrowings of $901m

General government

The pace of bond issuance by the Commonwealth government has slowed across the year in line with reduced funding requirements following unprecedented debt issuance to fund payments made to support the economy through the pandemic and natural disasters. State and local general government's demand for credit was $8.4b as funds raised through semi-government bonds were passed on by their respective central borrowing authorities through loans. State government demand for credit continues to be driven by investment in health and transport infrastructure. This was reflected in:

  • $8.2b in loan borrowings by state and local general governments
  • $3.1b of bonds issued by national general government 

Households

Balance sheet

Financial assets

Liabilities

Household wealth fell 0.4% ($57.4b) to $14,346.4b at the end of the December quarter. This was the third consecutive quarter of decline in household wealth and was driven by weakness in the housing market.

Wealth per capita fell 0.9% (-$4,737) to $546,962 per person.

Non-financial assets

Non-financial assets owned by households decreased 2.0% (-$213.0b), driven by a: 

  • $232.9b fall in land and dwellings

Holding losses on residential land and dwellings reflected continued declines in property prices across most of Australia.

Financial assets

Financial assets of households increased 3.0% ($191.5b), driven by a:

  • $120.1b rise in superannuation reserves
  • $33.0b rise in shares and other equity
  • $32.5b rise in currency and deposits

Total superannuation reserves increased by 3.6% this quarter, driven by favourable economic conditions domestically and overseas. Total deposits increased by 2.1%, driven by other deposits ($31.5b), as term deposits became more desirable with rising interest rates. Transferable deposits increased 0.1% ($0.8b).

Liabilities

Household liabilities increased 1.3% ($35.9b), driven by a: 

  • $30.9b rise in housing loans
  • $1.1b rise in short term loans

The growth in housing loans was driven by both owner-occupied ($22.2b) and investor ($5.8b) loans, but remained subdued compared to the first half of 2022.
The increase in short term loans was due to seasonal year-end spending. Through the year, short term loans fell 2.5%, reflecting household's lack of appetite for short term debt.

Private non-financial corporations

Financial assets

Liabilities

Private non-financial corporations demand for credit of $20.2b:

  • $20.5b issuance of equity, and
  • $2.7b loan borrowings 

Private non-financial corporations favoured equity over debt to source funds. This resulted in:

  • The debt to equity ratio (adjusted for price changes) decreasing to 0.61

Growth in firms' loan borrowings was the weakest since December quarter 2020, as loan borrowings from ADIs slowed and firms repaid loans from ROW. There was also a net maturity of corporate bonds in the December quarter. Firms' equity grew reflecting strength in private non-financial corporations' gross operating surplus resulting in a build up of reinvested earnings.

Financial corporations

Financial assets and liabilities

Authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs)

Financial assets

Liabilities

Financial assets of ADI’s fell $44.5b, following 8 consecutive quarters of growth in ADI assets. The fall this quarter reflects a $105.1b fall in derivatives, partly offset by continued increases in lending, and exchange settlement account balances. This resulted in a: 

  • $39.9b increase in loans to households
  • $6.9b increase in loans to other private non-financial corporations 
  • $8.4b increase in deposits with the central bank 

Liabilities of ADI's grew $12.1b. Falls in derivatives were offset by a:

  • $41.2b increase in equity as a result of increases in the value of equity of listed banks
  • $39.1b increase in debt securities
  • $18.9b increase in deposits

 ADIs' funding from debt-securities (transactions) grew $41.0b, with a: 

  • $13.4b increase in one name paper issued in Australia
  • $11.5b increase in bonds issued in Australia
  • $10.8b increase in one name paper issued offshore

The strong debt security issuance this quarter reflects ADIs returning to traditional pre-COVID-19 pandemic funding avenues.

Pension (superannuation) funds

Financial assets

Liabilities

Total financial assets of pension (superannuation) funds increased 3.6% ($96.7b), with a:

  • $92.4b increase in shares and other equity.
  • $3.2b increase in deposits
  • $1.3b decrease in bonds

Pension funds acquired $11.3b in shares and other equity and $1.9b in bonds. Valuation gains of $83.3b on their equity assets were driven by favourable movements in equity markets domestically and overseas. Gains were offset by holding losses on bonds assets due to increased bond yields offshore and appreciation of the AUD against the USD.

Government

National general government financial assets

National general government liabilities

State and local general government financial assets

State and local general government liabilities

General government

General government (national, and state and local) were net borrowers of $20.5b, mainly driven by a:

  • $13.8b decrease in deposit assets 
  • $8.2b increase in loan liabilities

National general government net bond transactions were $3.1b. The total value of national government bonds outstanding ($817.0b) continued to fall, although at a subdued rate as softening bond yields reduced negative valuation impacts on government securities. Loan liabilities of state and local governments continued to grow, although at a softer rate than recent quarters.

Overall, general government deposit assets decreased $15.8b, with -$13.8b in transactions and -$2.0b in revaluations. The fall was driven by a $9.4b reduction in national general government deposits, largely attributable to a fall in deposits with the central bank, which were used to fund bond and note maturities during the quarter. State and local government deposit assets also fell by $6.3b, following a strong increase last quarter.

(a) "Other" includes gold and special drawing rights, currency, bills of exchange, derivatives, shares and equity, unfunded superannuation and accounts payable/receivable.

Capital investment

Figures in the capital investment section are in seasonally adjusted current prices.

Net lending (+) / borrowing (-)

Australia's net lending position rose $13.4b to $13.9b this quarter.
This was driven by a: 

  • $8.1b increase in national net saving
  • $3.6b decrease in change in inventories

And partially offset by a:

  • $0.8b increase in gross fixed capital formation

National net borrowing as a proportion of GDP increased this quarter driven by a rise in net savings.

  • Financial corporations' net lending increased by $5.1b to $15.0b
  • Non-financial corporations' net borrowing increased by $1.0b to $6.6b
  • General government net borrowing decreased by $9.6b to $7.0b
  • Households' net lending decreased by $8.9b to $4.6b

Notable drivers were:

  • Financial corporations' net lending was driven by increases in net saving and net capital transfers
  • Non-financial corporations' net borrowing was driven by increases in gross fixed capital formation, and acquisitions less disposable of non-produced non-financial assets
  • General government net borrowing was driven by a strong increase in net savings, and a fall in acquisitions less disposable of non-produced non-financial assets
  • Households' net lending was driven by a decrease in net savings, and an increase in change in inventories

Capital Investment

National capital investment decreased to 22.4% as a proportion of GDP, while increasing 0.6% in current price seasonally adjusted terms.
Relative to GDP: 

  • Household capital investment decreased to 7.8%
  • Non-financial corporations' capital investment decreased to 10.4%
  • Financial corporations' capital investment remained at 0.5%
  • General government capital investment decreased to 3.7%

In current price seasonally adjusted terms:

  • Non-financial corporations' capital investment increased, driven by an increase in public and private non-financial corporations
  • General government capital investment increased, driven by an increase in national and state and local general government

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Data files

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5232.0

Revisions and changes

Revisions in this issue

There have been revisions to previously published aggregates due to:

  • Quality assurance reviews affecting the published aggregates after December quarter 2020, in addition to amendments to data collected in the ABS Survey of Financial Information, ABS Survey of International Investment and to data derived from Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) administrative data sets.
  • Revisions to the sectoral capital accounts are due to more up-to-date data being incorporated and concurrent seasonal adjustment.
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