Quote:

Bank Credit surged $73.1bn during the week (11/21) to a record $9.219 TN. Bank Credit has posted an 18-week gain of $575bn (19.2 annualized) and a y-t-d rise of $922bn, a 12.3% pace. For the week, Securities Credit jumped $39.9bn. Loans & Leases rose $33.2bn to $6.731 TN (18-wk gain of $406bn). C&I loans surged $21.9bn (2007 growth rate 21.8%). Real Estate loans gained $13bn. Consumer loans added $2.3bn. Securities loans declined $16.4bn, while Other loans increased $12.4bn. On the liability side, (previous M3) Large Time Deposits fell $23bn.

M2 (narrow) “money” supply rose $17.3bn to $7.420 TN (week of 11/19). Narrow “money” has expanded $377bn y-t-d, or 5.9% annualized, and $449bn, or 6.4%, over the past year. For the week, Currency dipped $1.0bn, and Demand & Checkable Deposits sank $23.2bn. Savings Deposits surged $32.2bn, and Small Denominated Deposits added $0.1bn. Retail Money Fund assets rose $9.2bn.

Total Money Market Fund Assets (from Invest. Co Inst) jumped $26.3bn last week to a record $3.073 TN. Money Fund Assets have now posted an unprecedented 18-week surge of $489bn (58% annualized) and a y-t-d increase of $691bn (31.4% annualized). Money fund assets have ballooned $744bn, or 31.9%, over the past year.

Total Commercial Paper gained $12.7bn to $1.854 TN. CP is now down $369bn over the past 16 weeks. Asset-backed CP declined $8.0bn (16-wk drop of $333bn) last week to $841bn. Year-to-date, total CP has contracted $120bn, with ABCP down $243bn. Over the past year, Total CP has declined $74bn, or 3.8%.

Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) issuance increased somewhat this week to a still slow $3.5bn. Year-to-date total US ABS issuance of $513bn (tallied by JPMorgan) is running 38% behind comparable 2006. At $219bn, y-t-d Home Equity ABS sales are off 58% from last year’s pace. Year-to-date US CDO issuance of $290 billion is now 16% below comparable 2006.

Fed Foreign Holdings of Treasury, Agency Debt last week (ended 11/28) increased $5.7bn to $2.031 TN. “Custody holdings” were up $279bn y-t-d (17.3% annualized) and $320bn during the past year, or 18.7%. Federal Reserve Credit expanded $1.5bn last week to $869.6bn. Fed Credit has increased $17.4bn y-t-d and $25.6bn over the past year (3.0%).

International reserve assets (excluding gold) - as accumulated by Bloomberg’s Alex Tanzi – were up $1.178 TN y-t-d (27% annualized) and $1.231 TN year-over-year (26%) to a record $5.989TN.