Consumer Credit in Australia during the Twentieth Century

Abstract

This article surveys the growth of consumer credit in Australia during the twentieth century, particularly after the Second World War. Until the 1970s, the regulation of Australia's financial market caused formal consumer credit to be provided mainly by finance companies under hire-purchase contracts, largely for the purchase of cars and household durables. Deregulation of the financial market since the 1960s allowed banks to gain a dominant share in the market for personal loans. Quantification of long-term trends is difficult, but broad estimates suggest sustained growth in per capita indebtedness during 1945-2007.