Household loans extended by South Korean banks rose by more than five trillion won, or around three-point-seven billion U.S. dollars, last month.

According to data from the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Wednesday, banks’ outstanding household loans stood at one-point-16 quadrillion won as of the end of May, up five-point-two trillion won from a month earlier.

The on-month increase is the steepest since September of last year, when household loans increased by five-point-six trillion won.

Home-backed loans rose by four-point-two trillion won, while credit loans expanded one trillion won.

A BOK official attributed the rise to increased housing transactions between February and March after the Seoul city government temporarily relaxed its land transaction permit rules, as well as to seasonal demand for credit loans in May.

Data from the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service showed that outstanding household loans from the overall financial sector in May expanded by a seven-month high of six trillion won.