[Graphic News] Mortgage lending increasing steadily

Home-backed loans extended by banks continued to show a steady increase in step with a rise in home transactions, the central bank said Wednesday.

The number of home transactions involving Seoul in June spiked 20 percent on-month to 12,000, the Bank of Korea said.

Home-backed loans came to 500.9 trillion won ($439 billion) as of end-June, up 4.8 trillion won from the previous month, while credit borrowing by households gained 1.7 trillion won to 165.8 trillion won.

The rise in household lending followed a cut in the key interest rate by the BOK in June.