SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's household credit hit a new high in the second quarter, affected by strong demand for mortgage loans and stock investment with borrowed money, central bank data showed Wednesday.
Household credit, which refers to debts owed by households to banks and other lenders in addition to the purchase on credit, jumped 25.9 trillion won (about 18.5 billion U.S. dollars) from three months earlier to 2,019.8 trillion won at the end of June, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The household credit topped the 2,000 trillion won mark for the first time, maintaining an upward trend for a ninth straight quarter since the second quarter of 2024.
The record household debts were due to solid demand for home-backed loans and stock investments with borrowed money.
Amid the lingering inflationary pressure, the BOK lifted its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent in July, turning toward monetary tightening for the first time in about three and a half years since January 2023.
Mortgage loans to households increased 12.2 trillion won in the April-June quarter, while other loans to households, such as credit loans, swelled 12.8 trillion won.
The purchase on credit added 0.9 trillion won in the cited quarter. ■