Economic news

S.Korea tightens loan criteria as household debt jumps the most in 2 years

2023.09.12 23:27


© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An apartment complex which is currently under construction is seen in Seoul, South Korea, August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s financial authorities said they would control household debt by tightening certain loan regulations, as rising mortgage demand drove up household borrowing by the biggest amount in two years in August.

Total household borrowing from banks stood at 1,075.0 trillion won ($810.94 billion) at the end of August, up 6.9 trillion won over the month, central bank data showed on Wednesday.

It exceeded the previous month’s 5.9 trillion won increase and the biggest since July 2021, according to the Bank of Korea. Household borrowing has been rising since April.

The country’s financial regulator held a meeting on Wednesday with related ministries and agencies to discuss ways to prevent further expansion of household debt, it said in a statement.

The Financial Services Commission said it would introduce measures against misuses of long-term mortgage loans, a stricter debt-to-service ratio for loans on floating rates, and tighter qualification criteria for the government’s temporary policy mortgage loan.

In August, mortgage loans grew for a fifth straight month and by 7.0 trillion won, the biggest since February 2020, while other loans fell by 0.1 trillion won in their 21st month of decline.

South Korea’s central bank held interest rates steady for a fifth straight meeting in August, as it tries to balance softer inflation with heightened risks to economic growth. Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong said rate hikes would remain a secondary option for dealing with rising household debt.

($1 = 1,325.6300 won)

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 82,399.08 0.37%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 1,895.15 1.76%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.01%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 2.31 3.80%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 578.74 0.47%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 125.34 0.78%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.01%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.715476 0.46%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.169352 0.41%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.222662 0.30%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 1,892.41 1.99%
pi-network
Pi Network (PI) $ 1.56 8.80%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 82,282.05 0.21%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 13.76 5.30%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 9.73 0.48%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.276566 4.64%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.04%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 2,267.88 2.04%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.190485 1.77%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 18.91 0.84%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000012 2.87%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 2.20 1.14%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 2.80 3.36%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 89.79 1.38%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 329.15 1.02%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 4.06 3.31%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 6.26 2.62%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 0.999696 0.04%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 1,895.94 2.01%
binance-bridged-usdt-bnb-smart-chain
Binance Bridged USDT (BNB Smart Chain) (BSC-USD) $ 1.00 0.23%
bitget-token
Bitget Token (BGB) $ 4.27 3.04%
hyperliquid
Hyperliquid (HYPE) $ 13.67 11.14%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 28.19 1.14%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,013.78 1.88%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 208.77 0.09%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 5.90 1.64%
susds
sUSDS (SUSDS) $ 1.04 0.11%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 2.66 5.17%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.01%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 5.17 1.72%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000007 0.63%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 18.44 4.83%
ondo-finance
Ondo (ONDO) $ 0.84973 1.02%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 5.57 2.49%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 41.91 0.72%
gatechain-token
Gate (GT) $ 20.53 2.77%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 165.86 2.20%
coinbase-wrapped-btc
Coinbase Wrapped BTC (CBBTC) $ 82,374.07 0.31%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.724892 2.54%
official-trump
Official Trump (TRUMP) $ 11.67 8.84%