November household loans grow at fastest pace in 5 months

SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's household loans expanded at the fastest
pace in five months in November, due mainly to increased credit loans, the
central bank said Monday.

Total household lending by local banks and other lending institutions expanded by
4.7 trillion won (US$4.2 billion) in November from the previous month, when the
figure recorded an increase of 3.3 trillion won, according to the Bank of Korea
(BOK).
The November gain marked the largest growth since 5.5 trillion won recorded in
June and the 10th straight monthly increase, the central bank said.
"The bigger increase in November came mainly because consumers took out more
credit loans," a BOK official said.
But mortgage loans, which account for a majority of household borrowing, remained
little changed.
Mortgage lending by banks grew 1.6 trillion won in November, compared with an
increase of 1.4 trillion won the previous month, while non-banking lenders issued
900 billion won in home-backed lending, lower than the 1.2 trillion won in
October, the central bank noted.
As of the end of November, outstanding household loans reached 546.71 trillion
won, the BOK said.
The data came as deepening household debt has raised concerns over the nation's
still-fragile economic recovery.
According to BOK data on Sunday, the ratio of the nation's household loans and
credit purchases to disposable income soared to a record high 68.3 percent in
September, shattering the previous record of 65.8 percent registered in September
2008.
The Bank of Korea left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low 2 percent
in January, the 11th monthly freeze after slashing a combined 3.25 percentage
points.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)

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