South Korean household mortgage loans rise more in November

SEOUL: South Korean banks' mortgage lending to households in November increased further on a rise in new home supply, central bank data showed on Dec 9.

Household mortgage loans rose by 1.6 trillion won (RM4.68 billion) in November from the previous month to 263.1 trillion won, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.

That compared with a 1.4 trillion won rise in October and a 0.4 trillion won fall in September.

Overall lending to households gained by 2.6 trillion won in November from the prior month to 408.2 trillion won after rising 1.4 trillion won in October, the Bank of Korea said.

Lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increased by 2.5 trillion won in November to 438.5 trillion won, after rising 2.2 trillion won in October.

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