Seoul: The growth of household loans extended by major South Korean banks gathered pace in November but stayed below 2 trillion won (US$1.4 billion) amid tighter lending regulations meant to curb surging household debts and housing prices, data showed Monday. According to Yonhap News Agency, outstanding household credit extended by five major lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup -- stood at 733.34 trillion won by the end of November, marking an increase of 1.26 trillion won from the previous month. This figure represents an acceleration from October's on-month growth of 1.11 trillion won. Despite the increase, November's growth is a significant decline from the 9.63 trillion won on-month gain experienced in August. This earlier surge was driven by heightened demand for mortgages, which occurred before the implementation of stricter lending rules. The financial authorities subsequently urged major lenders to enforce tight lending restrictions, which resulted in a slowdown in househo ld lending growth to 5.6 trillion won in September, and further down to 1.11 trillion won in October. Of the total household loans, home-backed loans rose by 1.33 trillion won in November, a decrease from the 8.91 trillion won increase in August and the 5.91 trillion won rise in September, as indicated by the data. Financial authorities have maintained their commitment to reducing household loans and have required all major lenders in both banking and nonbanking sectors to draft detailed plans for loan extension.