Bank loans to households dipped for the second month in a row in January amid tighter lending control by financial watchdogs aimed at curbing speculative real estate investment. 

The Bank of Korea said on Thursday that household loans issued by banks stood at one-point-06 quadrillion won as of the end of last month, down by 400 billion won from a month earlier. 

Following an on-month decline of 200 billion won in December, it marks the first time that household loans fell for two consecutive months since the central bank began compiling relevant data in 2004. 

Mortgage loans grew two-point-two trillion won on-month in January to 781 trillion won, but, other types of loans, including unsecured credit-based loans, dropped two-point-six trillion won on-month. 

A BOK official Hwang Yeong-ung listed rising key interest rates and lending restrictions among major factors contributing to the decline in household loans