Household loans extended by South Korean financial institutions grew at a faster pace in April than in the previous month on an increase in non-housing related loans, the central bank said Tuesday.

Household lending handled by local banks and non-bank institutions totaled 656.5 trillion won ($580.8 billion) as of end-April, up 1.4 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.

The April gain picked up from a 600 billion won on-month gain in March and also marked the highest level since December last year when such loans reached 659.9 trillion won.

However, the on-year growth rate of household lending slowed to 2.6 percent in April from 2.8 percent in the previous month, the BOK said.

The BOK data showed that mortgage loans fell last month indicating that the country’s property market still remains weak as the local economy loses ground and more people are holding back from purchasing homes on prospects that housing prices may fall further. (Yonhap News)