Debts owed by households to deposit-taking banks expanded 3.1 trillion won (2.3 billion U.S. dollars) from a month earlier to hit a new high of 1,095.0 trillion won at the end of December, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The household lending had been on the rise since April as demand for mortgage loan increased 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 5.2 trillion won last month, continuing to grow for the 10th straight month amid the supply of the government-backed mortgage loans to bolster the faltering housing market.
Other loans to households, including credit loan, credit line and commercial real estate-backed loan, reduced in the cited month on higher borrowing costs.
Banks' corporate loan came in at 1,247.7 trillion won at the end of December, down 5.9 trillion won from a month earlier.
Lending to big companies decreased 2.0 trillion won, and loan to small firms retreated 3.9 trillion won last month. (1 won equals 0.00076 USD)
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