07 May 2003 12:00am

The high interest St George "direct" deposit product is growing quickly, and faster than the rate of growth of the other leader in the direct deposit space, ING Bank.

St George said its direct saver product accounted for 14 per cent of deposits at March 2003, or $4.45 billion in deposits. Direct saver accounted for 10 per cent of deposits, or $2.75 billion in deposits, at March 2002.

Meanwhile retail funding is growing as a proportion of overall funding of the bank, with the retail proportion at 66 per cent at March 2003, up from 63.6 per cent at September 2002 and...