The Reserve Bank of New Zealand pointed in its March quarter monetary policy statement  to the likelihood that New Zealand banks would return to international markets to fund growth in lending for the first time since 2009.The bank said that bank funding costs had declined in recent months, which had reduced retail mortgage rates despite the flat outlook for short term wholesale interest rates. The bank said average mortgage rates had fallen 45 basis points over the past year.It noted that New Zealand bank lending surpassed deposit growth in December on an annualized basis for the first time since early 2009."There is indicative evidence that higher loan-to-value ratio lending has made up a greater proportion of new lending," the bank said."If credit growth continues to pick up, banks may issue into offshore markets with greater frequency," it said. "While this would increase banks' reliance on global funding markets, funding costs are the lowest they have been since early 2011."