Seoul, Sep 1 (IANS): Banks in South Korea started tightening curbs on mortgage loans on Sunday, officials said, amid concerns over rising housing prices in Seoul and household debts.

The move came as the Financial Services Commission asked banks to toughen screenings for new mortgage borrowers and allow them to take out loans smaller than before under the tightened criteria, Yonhap news agency reported.

The stress debt service ratio (DSR), which measures how much a borrower has to pay for principal and interest in proportion to his or her yearly income, serves as a ceiling on aggregate lending.

The tougher rules had been originally applied to banks in July but were delayed by two months.

Household credit rebounded sharply in the second quarter of this year as home-backed loans increased in the face of tightened lending criteria and high rates.

Outstanding household credit reached 1,896.2 trillion won (US$1.419 trillion) at the end of June, up 13.8 trillion won from three months earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

The second quarter marks a rebound from the previous quarter's 3.1 trillion won fall, according to the data.