Margin calls in the December 2009 quarter fell to bull market lows while the number of margin lending accounts surged to a record high, data published by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) showed.
The average number of margin calls in the period stood at 0.38 per day for every 1000 clients, down from 0.86 per day in the previous quarter.
The number of margin calls reached a record of 9.95 per day per 1000 clients during the December 2008 quarter.
AMP Capital Investors chief economist and head of investment strategy Shane Oliver said the stock market's rally was the reason behind the reduction in margin calls.
"The market has been stronger and volatility has been low," Oliver said.
As margin calls declined the number of margin lending accounts surged to a record of 240,000 as of the end of 2009, according to the RBA data.
Investors created 23,000 accounts alone in the December quarter, accounting for nearly half the growth in 2009.
However, Oliver expects account growth in the medium term to slow.
"The rate of return in the market is likely to slow down. We have seen a 60 per cent to 70 per cent increase in the market since the March 2009 low and price/earnings have gone up, so that might have a dampening effect on the growth of margin lending accounts," Oliver said.
