Household loans issued by banks grew in April after four months of decline.

According to Bank of Korea(BOK) data on Wednesday, outstanding household loans held by banks expanded by one-point-two trillion won last month from March.

Mortgage loans advanced two-point-one trillion won, while other loans declined by 900 billion won last month.

The overall increase comes despite continued government attempts to reduce lending as well as rising borrowing costs on the back of the central bank's interest rate hike.

A BOK official said that banks have stepped up loan promotion efforts since late March, but it remains to be seen whether lending will continue to rise.

Meanwhile, corporate loans grew by more than 12 trillion won in April due to seasonal factors such as value-added tax payments.

Household loans across the entire financial sector, including non-banking firms, also rose one-point-three trillion won last month, its first increase this year according to data by the Financial Services Commission.