SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's household debt growth slowed down last month on weak demand for new homes, central bank data showed Friday.
Debts owed by households to banks stood at 867 trillion won (730 billion U.S. dollars) as of the end of September, up 4.8 trillion won (4 billion U.S. dollars) from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It was the lowest increase in five months amid the weak demand for new homes. The purchase of new apartments in the capital Seoul and its suburban areas diminished to 19,000 in September from 21,000 the previous month.
The mortgage loan, extended by banks, increased 4 trillion won (3.4 billion U.S. dollars) in September, slowing from a growth of 4.6 trillion won (3.9 billion U.S. dollars) in August.
Meanwhile, banks' corporate loan growth speeded up from 3.5 trillion won (2.9 billion U.S. dollars) in August to 4.9 trillion won (4.1 billion U.S. dollars) in September.
