One adverse dynamic for banks in their credit card portfolios has reversed, at least for now, with balances accruing interest on the rise, on an annual basis. Analysis by MWE Consulting of the monthly payments data from the Reserve Bank of Australia shows that, "for the first time since December 2012, average annual balances accruing interest are in positive growth territory."Aggregate card balances increased to A$51.8 billion over the year to January 2017 and balances accruing interest increased to $32.5 billion, Mike Ebstein, principal of MWE said in his periodic report. It's a marker of a secular shift in a lending segment once fading fast."Accruing balances were shrinking by as much as 5.2 per cent per annum in mid 2014," Ebstein said."This was a far cry from a growth rate ten years ago of 16.7 per cent, which at that time was larger than the 12.5 per cent growth in non-accruing balances."Ebstein, once a senior executive in the cards division of ANZ during its, and the sector's, fast growth days, projects "a continuation of the trends … we could expect to again see accruing balances increasing at a faster rate than non-accruing balances in late 2017. "