S. Korea's household credit hits record high in Q3

SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's household credit hit a fresh record high in the third quarter due to strong demand for mortgage loans, central bank data showed Tuesday.

Household credit, which refers to debt owed by households to banks and other lenders in addition to the purchase on credit, totaled 1,968.3 trillion won (1.34 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of September, up 14.9 trillion won (10.2 billion dollars) from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the largest amount since relevant data began to be compiled in 2002, keeping an upward trend for the sixth straight quarter since the second quarter of 2024.

Robust demand for home-backed loans amid policy rate cuts contributed to the record household credit.

The BOK cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points in February and May each to 2.50 percent after slashing it by the same basis points in October and November last year.