Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in Australia
Australia: Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) was 3.4% in 2013. ▲ Rising
Risk premium on lending in Australia, 1995–2013
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %.
Analysis
In 2013, risk premium on lending in Australia stood at 3.4%.
That represents a change of down 3.7% on the previous year and up 75.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, risk premium on lending in Australia peaked at 3.5% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2000.
Australia ranks 49th of 86 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in Australia, year by year
| Year | lending rate minus treasury bill rate, % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 2.9% | — |
| 1996 | 2.7% | -5.0% |
| 1997 | 1.9% | -30.8% |
| 1998 | 1.8% | -1.6% |
| 1999 | 1.8% | -2.1% |
| 2000 | 1.7% | -3.7% |
| 2001 | 2.0% | +17.3% |
| 2002 | 1.9% | -6.3% |
| 2009 | 2.9% | +50.2% |
| 2010 | 2.8% | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 3.2% | +12.1% |
| 2012 | 3.5% | +9.4% |
| 2013 | 3.4% | -3.7% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 3.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.9%, 1.2× the median. (26 countries reporting)
- Australia's 3.4% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.4%, 98% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %) in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | +50.2% | 1.9% | 2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.2% | 1.8% | 2.9% | 5 |
| 2000s | 2.1% | 1.7% | 2.9% | 4 |
| 2010s | 3.2% | 2.8% | 3.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More financial sector data for Australia
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, annual growth rate 11.9 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0013 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per capita 83.74 units per person (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, annual growth rate 6.56 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0009 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per capita 61.14 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, annual growth rate 11.9 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0013 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per capita 83.74 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, SDR, annual growth rate 6.56 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is risk premium on lending in Australia?
- Risk premium on lending in Australia was 3.4% in 2013, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest risk premium on lending recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.5% in 2012.
- What is the lowest risk premium on lending recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2000.
- How does Australia rank for risk premium on lending?
- Australia ranks 49th out of 86 countries with data for 2013.
- Is risk premium on lending rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 75.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Risk premium on lending is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the "risk free" treasury bill interest rate at which short-term government securities are issued or traded in the market. In some countries this spread may be negative, indicating that the market considers its best corporate clients to be lower risk than the government. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.