Mortgage loans at South Korean lenders increased at a record pace in December as home buyers continued to borrow more amid an eased lending policy and low interest rates, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Outstanding home-backed loans extended by local banks reached 406.9 trillion won ($377.6 billion) as of the end of December, adding a record 6.2 trillion won from the previous month, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea.

Overall household lending growth slightly slowed from the previous month, but continued to post sharp gains for a third straight month after the central bank lowered the policy rate to 2 percent.

Outstanding bank loans to households came in at 560.9 trillion won last month, up 6.6 trillion won from the end of November.

The figure has been trending higher since August, when the government eased lending rules. This was followed by two rate cuts by the central bank. (Yonhap)