S.Korean banks' corporate lending posts biggest May growth

Source: Xinhua | 2020-06-11

South Korean banks' corporate lending posted the biggest May growth as companies rushed to secure liquidity on worry about the COVID-19 outbreak, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Banks' lending to companies amounted to 945.1 trillion won (793.2 billion U.S. dollars) as of the end of May, up 16 trillion won (13.4 billion U.S. dollars) from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the biggest May expansion since relevant data began to be compiled in June 2009. The corporate lending soared 27.9 trillion won (23.4 billion U.S. dollars) in April and 18.7 trillion won (15.7 billion U.S. dollars) in March respectively.

Companies increased their holdings of liquidity on worry about an economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Banks' lending to big corporations rose 2.7 trillion won (2.3 billion U.S. dollars) in May, while lending to small firms surged 13.3 trillion won (11.2 billion U.S. dollars).

Banks' lending to households reached 920.7 trillion won (772.7 billion U.S. dollars) as of end-May, up 5 trillion won (4.2 billion U.S. dollars) from a month earlier. The household lending added 4.9 trillion won (4.1 billion U.S. dollars) in April.

Demand for mortgage loan increased 3.9 trillion won (3.3 billion U.S. dollars) in May, after growing 4.9 trillion won (4.1 billion U.S. dollars) in April.

The number of apartment transactions in the capital Seoul reduced from 4,000 in March to 3,000 in April. The figure in Seoul's surrounding Gyeonggi province slipped from 16,000 to 12,000 in the same period.