Securitiser assets up by $7.3bn in December quarter

Over the three months ending in December 2017, the total assets held by securitisers rose to $132.5 billion, up from $125.2 billion in the September quarter, according to data from the ABS.

The 6 per cent rise was driven by an increase in residential mortgage assets, which jumped from $99.5 billion in the September quarter to $105.8 billion in the December quarter.

Non-residential mortgages totalled $1.7 billion over the same quarter.

Meanwhile, total liabilities held by Australians securitisers increased by 5.9 per cent, which the ABS attributed to an increase in long-term asset-backed securities issued in Australia, up by $8.6 billion.

According to the ABS, the increase in total liabilities was offset by a reduction in short-term asset-backed securities issued in Australia, which fell by $1.1 billion, as well as a decline in loan and placements, down by $300 million.

Asset-backed securities issued in Australia as a proportion of total liabilities rose by 89.8 per cent, up from 89.1 per cent in the September quarter, while those issued overseas dropped to 2.6 per cent, down by 0.1 percentage points from 2.7 per cent in the September quarter.

[Related: Mortgage arrears rise for the first time in four months]