Credit card use well up

Press, 1 April 1985, Page 33

Credit card use well up

PA Wellington People are making more use of credit cards, with billings in January of SI27M — up 30.8 per cent on January of last year. Total credit card balances increased 33.8 per cent over the year to January to total

Statistics issued by the Reserve Bank this week also show that there was a net withdrawal of deposits from the large finance companies in the month of January amounting to $9.2 million. By comparison, a net S3IM of deposits were received in January 1984. Over the year to ■ January, deposits grew 30.3 per cent, down from the 32 per cent growth rate recorded in the year to December 1984. New lending business written by large finance companies

in January, 1985, totalled $219.5M, which was up 35.7 per cent on the January, 1984, figure. In the year to January, 1985, lending rose 24 per cent — up from 22 per cent in the December, 1984, year. Commercial bills outstanding at the end of January totalled $1340M, which is 12.9 per cent higher than the SIIB7M outstanding at January, 1984. Over the January, 1985, year bank bills outstanding rose 29.4 per cent to S62BM, while dealers’ bills rose by only 1.5 per cent to S7I2M. Redemptions of all savings-stock-type issues continued to increase during March and amounted to $122.1M during the month to March 22. By comparison redemptions in January and February were $30.1M and $89.3M respectively.