Korea’s household credit hits new high in Q2

South Korea’s household credit hit a fresh high in the second quarter, with its growth picking up from three months earlier on a sharp rise in mortgage lending, central bank data showed Tuesday.

Household credit totaled 1.04 quadrillion won ($1.02 trillion) as of end-June, up 15.1 trillion won from the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea. The second-quarter gain is about four times that of the 3.5 trillion won gain logged in the January-March period.

Household credit refers to credit purchases and loans that have been extended by financial institutions, including commercial lenders and mutual savings banks.

The faster growth was credited to a rise in mortgage lending as some banks expanded their loan products to boost the portion of their fixed-rate loans. (Yonhap)