The issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) in South Korea shrank considerably in the third quarter of 2016 from a year earlier on less issuance of mortgage-related products, government data showed Tuesday.

The amount of ABS issued during the July-September period totaled 15.2 trillion won ($ 13.3 billion), down 25.2 percent on-year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The decline came as the state-funded Korea Housing Finance Corp. (KHFC) scaled down its issuance of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) by 24.8 percent to 9.8 trillion won.

It is mainly attributable to a "base effect," as MBS issuance last year soared amid the government-led new mortgage loan program, called "Relief Loans."

"The KHFC temporarily issued 30.8 trillion won of MBS backed by Relief Loans from May to July last year, 3.4 trillion won of which was issued in July. If the amount is excluded from the record for the third quarter of 2015, this year's MBS issuance by the KHFC will be at about the same level as last year's issuance," the FSS said.

The amount of ABS issued by financial and non-financial companies also fell 33.9 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively, to 3.2 trillion won and 2.2 trillion won, in the third quarter of this year.

Loans-backed ABS totaled 10.5 trillion won during the period, down 31 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)