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A bank official explains a loan product to a visiting customer. (Yonhap) |
South Korean banks' household loans continued to grow at a faster clip in November, fueled by the strong growth of non-mortgage loans, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The value of outstanding bank loans to local households came to 982.1 trillion won ($905.3 billion) as of end-November, up 13.6 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The November reading, which is compared with a 10.6 trillion-won gain in October, marked the highest monthly increase.
The BOK said the rise in lending was mainly attributable to solid demand for home-backed lending.
Banks' mortgage loans grew 6.2 trillion won on-month to 715.5 trillion won November.
South Korea has unveiled a set of measures to cool the overheated housing market but has failed to put a lid on home prices.
Non-mortgage loans jumped 7.4 trillion won last month, accelerating from a 3.8 trillion-won increase in October.
Unsecured loans accounted for the bulk of banks' non-mortgage lending. South Korean households rushed in recent months to borrow money to meet demand for property-related costs and subscribe to initial public offering shares.
The financial regulator is seeking to tighten regulations on unsecured loans as excessive demand for credit loans is feared to hurt households' debt-serving capacity and banks' financial soundness.
Meanwhile, outstanding corporate loans totaled 981.9 trillion won at the end of November, up 6.7 trillion won from the previous month. (Yonhap)
