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| A notice attached to the wall of a commercial bank in Seoul informs borrowers of interest rates for loans, Jan. 17. Yonhap |
Korean savings institutions' loans continued to grow in the fourth quarter but at a slower pace than three months earlier due to stepped-up efforts to monitor the soundness of borrowers, central bank data showed Wednesday.
Outstanding industrial loans extended by banks and non-bank depository institutions came to 1,797.7 trillion won ($1.36 trillion) at the end of last year, up 28 trillion won from a quarter earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.
From a year earlier, the amount expanded by 217 trillion won.
The lending to businesses continued to rise but at a slower pace than a 56.6 trillion-won increase tallied three months earlier.
The BOK said that demand for borrowing remained high amid unfavorable direct financing conditions caused by slumping stock and bond markets.
But savings institutions' stepped-up monitoring of borrowers appeared to have led to the slower growth in outstanding loans.
Loans to service companies, which include the self-employed, grew by 15.9 trillion won to 1,176.4 trillion won as of end-December, slowing from a 38.8 trillion-won gain in the previous quarter.
Lending to the manufacturing industry expanded by 4.6 trillion won to 454.6 trillion won, compared with a 10.6 trillion-won increase three months earlier. (Yonhap)
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