The issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) in South Korea jumped 53 percent in 2020 due to increased sales of government-led mortgage funds, data showed Friday.

The value of ABS issues stood at 79.1 trillion won ($71 billion) last year, up 27.4 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

ABS are structured with mortgages, auto loans, credit-card receivables and student loans as underlying assets.

The jump came as the Korea Housing Finance Corp., the state-run mortgage agency, increased the issuance of its mortgage-backed securities (MBS).

The amount of MBS issued by the agency came to 48.6 trillion won last year, up 73 percent from a year ago.

MBS issuance rose sharply in the third quarter as financial institutions introduced new home-backed loans with low fixed interest rates for working-class people. (Yonhap)