RBA says households in good shape

AUSTRALIAN households are in good financial shape and not facing huge risks, despite debt levels reaching record highs, the central bank says.

Speaking today at the opening of the 20th Australasian Finance and Banking Conference in Sydney, Mr Battellino conceded that household debt, as a proportion of total debt, had reached unprecedented levels.

But he rejected suggestions that the current levels of total debt meant the household sector was vulnerable to global economic shocks similar to The Depression of the 1930s.

» RBA says households in good shape – The Australian, 12th December 2007.