Banks' household lending grows for 9th month in October

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's household loans grew for the nine
consecutive month in October as local lenders unlocked credit amid an economic
recovery, the central bank said Thursday.

Lending to households extended by banks and non-banking financial institutions
expanded by 3.3 trillion won (US$2.8 billion) in October from a month earlier,
marking nine months of continued expansion, according to a report by the Bank of
Korea (BOK).
Household loans have been on the rise since February as economic recovery hopes
prompted lenders to loosen strings on such lending.
The South Korean economy accelerated 3.2 percent in the third quarter from three
months earlier, chalking up the fastest growth in more than seven years.
Banks' mortgage loans, the bulk of total lending, expanded by 1.4 trillion won in
October, rebounding from a 900 billion won decline the previous month, the BOK
said. Home-backed loans grew by an average of 2.1 trillion won every month in the
January-October period, the central bank said.
As of the end of October, outstanding household loans by banks and non-bank
lenders stood at 542 trillion won, up from 538.7 trillion won a month earlier, it
said.
pbr@yna.co.kr