Seoul: Loans extended by insurance companies rose in the fourth quarter of last year compared to three months earlier, data showed Friday. Insurers' outstanding loans reached 265.2 trillion won (US$176 billion) as of end-December, marking an increase of 3.8 trillion won from the previous quarter.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the on-quarter increase was attributed to a rise in loans extended both to households and businesses. Household lending by insurers stood at 134 trillion won as of end-December, reflecting an increase of 700 billion won from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, corporate lending rose by 3.2 trillion won to 131.2 trillion won over the same period.

The loan delinquency rate, which measures the proportion of loan principal or interest unpaid for at least a month, stood at 0.84 percent at end-December, up 0.03 percentage point from three months earlier, as reported by the financial watchdog. Furthermore, the rate of insurers' nonperforming loans was 1.03 percent at the end of December, an increase of 0.05 percentage point from three months earlier, according to the data.