According to the Bank of Korea's "Financial Market Trends" released on Tuesday, outstanding household loans at deposit banks, including policy mortgage loans, stood at 1,172.8 trillion won as of end-March, up 500 million won from the previous month.

Household loans rose by 2.1 trillion won in November last year, then turned to a 2.0 trillion won decline in December. They fell by 1.1 trillion won in January and by 400 billion won in February, before returning to growth in March.

By loan type, outstanding mortgage loans were unchanged from the previous month at 934.9 trillion won. After rising by 300 billion won in February, they held steady due to tighter household loan management by banks and slower demand for jeonse loans.

Other loans, by contrast, rose by 500 million won to 237.1 trillion won. The increase is seen as being driven by more credit loans related to stock investing.

According to "Household Loan Trends" released on Tuesday by the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, household loans across all financial institutions rose by 3.5 trillion won in March.

The uptrend extended for a third straight month this year, and the increase was larger than the 2.9 trillion won rise in the previous month.

By sector, loans at banks rose by 500 billion won, while those at non-bank financial institutions increased by 3.0 trillion won. The increase at non-bank financial institutions, however, eased slightly from 3.3 trillion won the month before.

Mutual finance institutions in particular recorded a 2.7 trillion won increase, which is seen as reflecting group loans approved before new loan issuance was halted at providers such as NongHyup and Saemaul Geumgo.

By loan type, mortgage loans across all financial institutions rose by 3.0 trillion won, a smaller increase than the 4.1 trillion won rise in the previous month. As the decline in credit loans narrowed, other loans turned to a 500 billion won increase from a 1.2 trillion won fall the month before.