Household loans extended by South Korean lenders continued to rise quickly, growing 6.9 trillion won

(US$6.2 billion) from the previous month in November, data showed Wednesday.

Outstanding household loans by local lenders reached 554.3 trillion won as of end-November following a six-year high gain of 6.9 trillion won in October, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Of the total, mortgage loans accounted for 400.7 trillion won, increasing 5.9 trillion won from the previous month. It slightly slowed from a 6 trillion won increase a month earlier.

The central bank credited the increase to eased housing loan rules, low interest rates and a rise in property market transactions.

The number of apartment transactions in Seoul last month reached 8,500 units, lower than October's 10,900 units but higher than the five-year average of 4,700 units between 2008 and 2013, it said.

Earlier data by the BOK have shown that such policy efforts have stoked demand for household loans. South Korean financial institutions, including banks and non-banking institutions, saw household loans grow by a monthly record of 7.8 trillion won in October.

The latest figures come a day ahead of the central bank's monthly monetary policy decision. All 18 analysts projected the BOK to hold the current 2-percent base rate as it gauges the impact of previous rate cuts and monitors household debt, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. (Yonhap)