SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's household credit hit a new record high last year due to solid demand for mortgage loans, central bank data showed Tuesday.

Household credit, which refers to debts owed by households to banks and other lenders in addition to the purchase on credit, stood at 1,927.3 trillion won (1.34 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of December, up 41.8 trillion won (28.9 billion dollars) from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It has marked the largest amount since relevant data began to be compiled in 2002.

The record household credit was attributable to robust demand for home-backed loans, affected by expectations for interest rate cuts.

The BOK cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points in October and November last year each to 3.00 percent.

Excluding the purchase on credit, household debt expanded 39.7 trillion won (27.5 billion dollars) from a year earlier to 1,807.0 trillion won (1.25 trillion dollars) at the end of December.

Mortgage loans to households jumped 59.5 trillion won (41.2 billion dollars) amid eased regulations to prop up the faltering housing market.

Other loans to households, such as credit loans, reduced 19.8 trillion won (13.7 billion dollars) last year.

The purchase on credit gained 2.1 trillion won (1.5 billion dollars) to 120.3 trillion won (83.3 billion dollars). Enditem

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