SEOUL, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Mortgage loan in South Korea posted a moderate growth last month on a falling demand for home-backed loans from nonmonetary institutions that offset an increase in bank loans, financial regulator data showed Monday.

Mortgage loans, extended by banks, came in at 619.5 trillion won (523.1 billion U.S. dollars) as of end-April, up 3.6 trillion won (3 billion U.S. dollars) from a month earlier, according to joint data by the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service.

It was the biggest monthly expansion in four months, but the increase was offset by the mortgage loan reduction by nonmonetary institutions such as mutual credit, insurers and savings banks that declined by 1.4 trillion won (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) last month.

The home-backed loans by nonmonetary institutions continued to fall for three straight months through April amid the government's efforts to curb speculative investment in the real estate market.

The bank mortgage loan increased last month as the winners of apartment application borrowed money from banks for middle payment, especially in capital Seoul and its suburban areas.

Household debts, including mortgage loan, expanded 5.1 trillion won (4.3 billion U.S. dollars) in April, down from a growth of 7.3 trillion won (6.2 billion U.S. dollars) tallied a year earlier.