Loans extended by South Korea's non-bank lenders reached an all-time high last year while their overall lending also increased by the largest amount in the country's history, central bank data showed Saturday.

    Outstanding loans extended by non-bank lenders came to 724.14 trillion won (US$629.7 billion) as of end-2016, up 13.7% from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea, cited by state news agency (Yonhap).

    A 13.7% on-year spike marks the third fastest rate in 10 years after a 19.2% rise in 2007 and 17.6% in 2008. However, in terms of sheer amount, loans extended by non-bank lenders increased by a net 87.3 trillion won last year, the highest amount since the central bank began compiling such data in 1993. 

    Non-bank lenders include mutual savings banks, asset management firms and insurances companies, but not private lenders.