Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies rose in the third quarter of last year due mainly to an increase in stock investments, the central bank said Thursday.

Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 30.7 trillion won ($28.2 billion) in the July-September period, up from 16.6 trillion won a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Excess funds refer to the volume of money that remains on the balance sheets of households after people manage available funds via deposits, stock investments and other means.

Their excess funds grew to more than 60 trillion won for the second quarter last year on the back of increased liquidity meant to support the economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Net borrowing of non-financial enterprises came to 14.9 trillion won in the third quarter, compared with 17.8 trillion won a year earlier, according to the BOK.

The government sector also saw its net borrowing fall in the third quarter. Its net borrowing reached 8.8 trillion won in the third quarter, down from 16.4 trillion won the previous year. (Yonhap)