SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's household credit hit a record high in the fourth quarter of 2025 owing to solid demand for mortgage loan and stock investment with borrowed money, central bank data showed Friday.
Household credit, which refers to debts owed by households to banks and other lenders in addition to the purchase on credit, stood at 1,978.8 trillion won (1.37 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of December, up 14.0 trillion won (9.7 billion dollars) from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marked the largest amount since relevant data began to be compiled in 2002, maintaining an upward momentum for the seventh straight quarter since the second quarter of 2024.
The record household credit was affected by robust demand for home-backed loans and debt-financed investment in stocks.
The BOK left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.50 percent after reducing it by 25 basis points in February and May of 2025 and in October and November of 2024.
Excluding the purchase on credit, household debt mounted 11.1 trillion won (7.6 billion dollars) from three months earlier to 1,852.7 trillion won (1.28 trillion dollars) at the end of December.
Mortgage loan to households expanded 7.3 trillion won (5.0 billion dollars) in the October-December quarter, while other loans to households, such as credit loan, swelled 3.8 trillion won (2.6 billion dollars).
The purchase on credit grew 2.8 trillion won (1.9 billion dollars) in the cited quarter. ■