Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) assistant governor of financial markets Guy Debelle says the level of loan defaults in Australia remained at “extraordinarily low levels”, with only 0.5 per cent of all loans failing.

In response to a question, Dr Debelle said that when considering non-conforming or so-called sub-prime loans in isolation, the rate rose to about 4.5 per cent, but that was still well below the levels experienced in the US.

The default rate for prime loans in Australia was as low as 0.25 per cent.

Despite the ongoing issues in the US, the rate of loan defaults in Australia hasn’t moved this year, said Dr Debelle who was speaking at a conference in Adelaide today.

AAP