South Korea end-March household credit growth at 3-year high

[SEOUL] The outstanding amount of total credit and loans owed by South Korean households as of the end of March each grew by the fastest annual pace in more than three years, central bank data showed on Wednesday.

Total credit owed by South Korean households amounted to 1,099.3 trillion won (S$1.34 trillion) as of the end of March, up 7.3 per cent from a year earlier after a 6.5 per cent rise at the end of December, Bank of Korea data showed.

It was led by a sharp 7.5 per cent rise in the outstanding amount of loans owed by households at the end of March over the year before, compared with a 6.7 per cent gain at the end of December, the quarterly data showed.

Both marked their fastest annual growth since the end of December 2011, when total credit grew 8.7 pe rcent from a year earlier and loans by 8.5 per cent.

The outstanding amount of purchases on credit - another part of the household credit balance - rose 3.2 per cent by the end of March on-year, up from a 2.9 per cent rise at the end of December but slower than a 5.0 per cent gain at the end of September.

REUTERS