South Korea's corporate lending surges to $504B

South Korean banks' corporate lending rose sharply in January from the previous month, with a particular growth in lending to big corporations.

According to the Bank of Korea, corporate loans by local banks gained by 6.8 trillion won on-month to 563 trillion won $504 billion, turning around from a 9.1 trillion won fall in December, according to the central bank's preliminary estimate.

Bank lending to large firms expanded sharply by 5 trillion won to 120.1 trillion won, as some large-size industrial groups tried to increase liquidity.

Bank loans to smaller firms grew 1.9 trillion won to 442.9 trillion won, it said.

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