[Anchor]
Household loans from the banking sector have seen a significant increase for two consecutive months. The rise is largely attributed to funds being raised for home purchases and stock market investments.
Reporter Hong Yeongjae has the story.
[Reporter]
As of June, the total balance of household loans reached 1,189 trillion won, an increase of 7.6 trillion won from the previous month.
This marks the largest monthly increase in bank household loans since August 2024.
The Bank of Korea explained that the consecutive surge in household debt is driven by demand for home purchases and stock investments.
While loans for jeonse (long-term rent deposits) have been on a downward trend since April, mortgage loans, fueled by demand for real estate in the Seoul metropolitan area, increased by 4.3 trillion won compared to May.
The demand for installment payments on existing pre-sale housing units also contributed to the expansion of mortgage loans.
The Bank of Korea noted that housing transactions have increased, particularly in the metropolitan area, with price growth exceeding 10 percent, and projected that there will continue to be significant upward pressure on mortgage loans.
Amid this situation, KB Kookmin Bank announced that starting tomorrow, it will reduce its maximum mortgage loan limit from 600 million won to 300 million won.
Although the standard mortgage loan limit for the metropolitan area and regulated zones is 600 million won, the bank is voluntarily tightening its own limits.
The balance of household loans at the five major banks, excluding policy-based loans, stood at 648.0035 trillion won as of last month, already nearing the annual household loan growth targets submitted to financial authorities.
The Bank of Korea assessed that banks have begun implementing measures to meet their household loan targets, and other commercial banks are closely monitoring market trends to see if they will also tighten mortgage loans, following the lead of KB Kookmin Bank.
Other loans, including credit loans, also rose by 3.3 trillion won.
This is largely influenced by what is known as bit-tu, or debt-financed investing. The Bank of Korea stated that other loans are expected to show high volatility depending on individual stock investment trends, and that there is a need to monitor the situation with particular caution.
(Video Editing: Jeong Yong-hwa)
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