South Korea April mortgage loan growth accelerates

SEOUL: South Korean banks' mortgage lending to households in April grew slightly faster, while overall household loans rose at a slower pace than the previous month, central bank data showed on Tuesday, May 11.

Household mortgage loans rose by 1.77 trillion won (RM5 billion) in April from the previous month to 269.0 trillion won after adding 1.68 trillion won in March, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.

Overall lending to households also rose 1.73 trillion won in April from the prior month to 411.0 trillion won, after climbing by 1.94 trillion won in March, the central bank said.

The data, which did not include loans by non-bank financial companies, came a day before the central bank looks certain to keep interest rates on hold. – Reuters