SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' household loan growth slowed last month as tighter credit controls and a cooling stock market led to a downturn in non-mortgage lending, central bank data showed Wednesday.
Debt owed by households to deposit-taking banks totaled 1,198.3 trillion won (894.1 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of August, up 3.4 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The August gain was lower than an expansion of 5.5 trillion won in the previous month, but it kept an upward trend for a sixth straight month.
The slowdown was caused by a slump in retail stock investments and bank's stricter credit management that stoked the downturn in non-mortgage lending.
Other loans, including credit loan, credit line and commercial real estate-backed loan, fell 0.6 trillion won in August from a month earlier, reversing from an increase of 2.0 trillion won in July.
Mortgage loans continued an upward trajectory, swelling 4.0 trillion won last month compared to a 3.5 trillion won growth in the prior month.
The mortgage demand was driven by a rise in property transactions and newly-built apartment move-in volume in Seoul and its surrounding areas.
The number of newly-built apartment move-in volume across the country advanced from 13,000 in June to 18,000 in July and 19,000 in August, while apartment sales in the capital region remained steady throughout the summer.
Corporate loans, extended by domestic banks, totaled 1,430.8 trillion won at the end of August, up 9.7 trillion won from a month earlier. It outpaced an increase of 7.7 trillion won in the previous month.
Lending to large corporations mounted 4.9 trillion won as banks aggressively promoted lending to big companies, which sought funds for corporate bond redemptions.
Loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) climbed 4.8 trillion won due to financial support programs for smaller businesses, rolled out by some banks. ■