The annual growth of total credit card balances outstanding, for business and personal cards, fell to its lowest level in April since records began in January 1982, figures from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand show. The growth of 1.8% from April 2008 was down from 2.17% in March and was the seventh consecutive fall since 8.7% annual growth in September 2008. The proportion of New Zealand personal credit card balances incurring interest saw the seasonal fall in March from February, but it was still at its second highest level since February 2005. The interest-bearing proportion of advances outstanding fell to 70.6% in March from 71.7% in February. The amount of total personal advances outstanding fell for the third consecutive month to NZ$4.99 billion in March. The figures also show total credit card limits for personal and business cards fell to NZ$17.6 billion in April from NZ$17.7 billion in March, the fifth consecutive monthly decline.
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