S.Korean banks' household loans rebound in August

SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' household loans rebounded in August on higher demand for home-backed loans, central bank data showed Thursday.

Banks' lending to households stood at 1,060.8 trillion won (about 767.4 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of August, up 300 billion won (about 217 million dollars) from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It rallied after sliding 300 billion won (about 217 million dollars) in the previous month due to higher demand for mortgage loans.

Mortgage loans to households gained 1.6 trillion won (about 1.16 billion dollars) to 792.6 trillion won (about 573.5 billion dollars) in the cited month, but credit loans reduced by 1.3 trillion won (about 941 million dollars) amid higher interest rates.

The BOK raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.50 percent in August, delivering four back-to-back rate hikes for the first time.

Banks' corporate loans increased by 8.7 trillion won (about 6.3 billion dollars) from a month earlier to 1,146.1 trillion won (about 829.4 billion dollars) at the end of August.

The corporate loans kept growing for the eighth consecutive month.