The Calvinist savings ethic that keeps banks in business has proven disposable in Australia in the past. And so it may be again, with the savings ratio taking a dive once more over the March 2017 quarter, yesterday's national accounts show. The household saving ratio, on a seasonally adjusted basis, fell to 4.7 per cent in March from 5.1 per cent in December 2016. This is the fourth quarterly fall in a row for this ratio - on a seasonally adjusted basis.On a trend basis, the decline was greater - down to 4.8 per cent, from 5.4 per cent - also the fourth quarterly fall in a row.On an original basis, the household saving ratio at Match 2017 was a lowly 3.1 per cent, less than one third the ratio of 10.5 per cent reported in September 2016.The Reserve Bank of Australia projected early in 2016 that the saving ratio in Australia may exhibit "a further modest decline" over the next few years.Now this decline is clearly in evidence, analysis by financial market commentators for now is favourable."Consumers are drawing down saving to spend but in part this reflects an adjustment to the new 'normal' wage growth of two per cent, rather than three to four per cent," Craig James, chief economist, CommSec said.Very low savings rates are rare rather than novel."For much of the 2000s the household savings rate sat around the two per cent level, so there is still a good deal of room for the savings rate to fall further in coming months," Sean Keane from Triple T Consulting wrote in a report for Credit Suisse."The RBA are likely to be counting on the continuation of the current trend as being one ongoing source of support for the domestic economy," Keane said.