S. Korea's household debts grow to near $790 bln in Q3

South Korea's household debts grew to near 900 trillion won (789.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the third quarter, but they grew at a slower pace compared with three months earlier, the central bank said Monday. Outstanding household credit, including loans from banks and non-bank depository corporations as well as credit purchases, reached a fresh record of 892.5 trillion won as of the end of September, up 16.2 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The nation's household credit continued to grow after topping the 800-trillion won mark for the first time in the second quarter of last year, but the third-quarter growth slowed from the 18.9 trillion won expansion tallied in the second quarter of this year. Household loans extended by banks stood at an outstanding 449.6 trillion won as of the end of September, up 5.4 trillion won from three months before. The third-quarter growth slowed from the 9.2 trillion won quarterly advance recorded in the previous quarter amid a slowing rise in home-backed lending, according to the BOK. Household debts owed by non-bank depository institutions such as savings banks, credit unions and community credit cooperatives expanded 5.4 trillion won on-quarter to 179 trillion won in the third quarter due to a slightly faster growth in mortgage loans. Loans owed to households by other financial institutions, including insurers, pension funds and credit card firms, reached 212.3 trillion won at the end of September, up 4.2 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the BOK. Credit purchases, including credit card spending and installment payment purchases, stood at 51.5 trillion won as of end-September, up 1.3 trillion won from three months before as consumers increased their credit card uses to buy goods and services, the BOK said. (1 U.S. dollar equals 1,138 won)