South Korean Banks' Household Lending Rises for 10th Month
Debts owed by households to deposit-taking banks expanded 3.4 trillion won (2.5 billion U.S. dollars) from a month earlier to hit a record high of 1,098.4 trillion won at the end of January, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The household lending had been on the increase since April last year amid expectations for the BOK's unwillingness to hike rates in the foreseeable future.
The BOK had left its policy rate unchanged at 3.50 percent since January last year after raising it by 3.0 percentage points for the past one and a half years.
Banks' mortgage loan gained 4.9 trillion won last month, continuing to grow for the 11th straight month.
Other loans to households, including credit loan, credit line and commercial real estate-backed loan, diminished 1.5 trillion won in the cited month.
Banks' corporate loan came in at 1,254.4 trillion won at the end of January, up 6.7 trillion won from a month earlier.
Lending to big companies grew 5.2 trillion won, and loan to small firms climbed 1.5 trillion won last month.
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