‘Has the Stock Market Boom Cooled?’ Demand Deposits Up by 47 Trillion Won in Two Months... Credit Loans Slow Down

Household Loan Growth Maintains 3 to 4 Trillion Won Range for 4 Consecutive Months
Demand Deposits of Investment-Ready Funds Increase by 47 Trillion Won in February-March

[Asia Economy reporters Park Sun-mi and Sung Ki-ho] Last year, credit loans, which had surged sharply, are showing signs of stabilization as financial authorities strengthen household loan management and market interest rates rise. Additionally, as the stock market, which had surged last year, takes a breather after the KOSPI settled around 3000, liquidity unable to find investment destinations is accumulating in bank accounts, clearly indicating a change in the flow of market funds.

According to the financial sector on the 2nd, the total household loan balance of the five major banks?KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup?stood at 681.6357 trillion won as of the end of March, an increase of 3.4652 trillion won from 678.1705 trillion won in the previous month. The increase, which recorded 7 trillion won in October and 9 trillion won in November last year, has maintained a range of 3 to 4 trillion won for four consecutive months from December last year to March this year.

In particular, credit loans increased by only 203.3 billion won to 135.3877 trillion won as of the end of March compared to the previous month. The credit loan balance showed signs of stabilization after increasing by 4.8495 trillion won in November last year compared to the previous month, with changes of -43.3 billion won in December, 1.5918 trillion won in January, and -55.6 billion won in February.

However, housing-related loans are on the rise. The balance of mortgage loans (including jeonse deposit loans) was 483.1682 trillion won as of the end of March, an increase of 3.0424 trillion won from the previous month. This marks more than 3 trillion won increase for two consecutive months following February’s 3.7579 trillion won increase. A bank official analyzed, "With the atmosphere of strengthened household loan management, rising loan interest rates, and reduced loan limits, the increase in credit loans has clearly been curbed. The rise in mortgage loans is due to the recent increase in jeonse prices and the March moving season."

On the other hand, 18 trillion won of ‘money with nowhere to go’ flowed into demand deposits at banks last month. Parking accounts, which offer almost no interest due to their on-demand withdrawal nature, are swelling again as they fail to find suitable investment destinations. The balance of demand deposits at the five major banks was 656.484 trillion won in March, up 2.9% from 638.2397 trillion won in February. Following an increase of 28.9529 trillion won in February, demand deposits rose by 18.2443 trillion won last month, accumulating about 47 trillion won over two months.

This is interpreted as liquidity unable to find investment destinations piling up in investment waiting accounts within banks, due to the payment of the fourth disaster relief fund, the Small Business Support Fund Plus, and the slowdown in the stock market’s upward trend. The influx of subscription funds for SK Bioscience’s IPO also had an impact.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.