Household loans extended by local banks continued to rise at a fast clip in December though the rate of growth slowed from the previous month following the recent U.S. rate hike, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Outstanding household loans extended by local banks came to 639.1 trillion won as of end-December, up 6.9 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.

The on-month gain marks a slight drop from a 7.5-trillion-won on-month increase in November.

The rise in household loans was mostly attributed to a surge in home-backed loans, which jumped 6.3 trillion won from a month earlier to 477.2 trillion won, quickening from a 5.9 trillion won gain in the previous month.

The growth in credit loans, on the other hand, slowed to a 700-billion-won increase from a 1.6-trillion-won gain over the cited period.

"Home-backed loans increased at a faster rate in December amid a rise in home transactions that exceeded the average of previous years and a rise in demand for collective loans," the BOK said in a press release.

In December, the number of home transactions involving apartment units in Seoul came to 8,300, surpassing the monthly average of 6,900 for December between 2006 and 2014, it added.

Meanwhile, corporate loans extended by local banks came to 724.1 trillion won as of the end of December, down 9.9 trillion won from a month earlier. (Yonhap)