[Economy 365]

Domestic bank loan delinquency rates in August reached their highest level in nine years and 10 months.

The ratio of principal and interest overdue for more than a month stood at 0.69%, rising 0.06 percentage points from a month earlier and 0.08 percentage points from a year ago.

This is attributed to the mounting repayment burden on borrowers as high interest rates persist, along with an increase in large corporate loan delinquencies.

The corporate loan delinquency rate came in at 0.86%, while small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loans rose to 1%.

Among them, small businesses incorporated as legal entities recorded 1.1%, and sole proprietors recorded 0.86%.

The household loan delinquency rate also rose to 0.45%.

Mortgage loans stood at 0.31%, while household loans excluding mortgages, such as credit loans, reached 0.91%, the highest since August of last year.

The Financial Supervisory Service explained that while delinquency rates are rising, they remain lower than the 10-year pre-COVID-19 average of 0.78%, making them manageable over the mid- to long-term.

*This article was produced with AI audio.