Loans to the private sector grew at a slightly higher rate in July. Loans to business were the main drivers of the higher-than-expected figures, rising 0.7% for the month (previously 0.1% in June) and 4.8% over the year and they offset the figures for personal loans which were flat for the month (previously 0.3% in June) and only 0.9% over the year. Housing loans continued to grow steadily, coming in at 0.6% for the month and 7.4% for the year. AMP’s Shane Oliver speculated APRA lending guidelines may be having an impact on the investor portion of housing loans but suggested more time was needed to confirm the effects due to the lag between approval and the actual draw-down of the loans.
