Major Banks' Household Loan Balances Decrease by 2.7 Trillion KRW in March... Decline Continues for 3 Consecutive Months

The Upward Trend in Mortgage Loans Reverses but Remains Minimal... Credit Loans Lead the Decline

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] The outstanding household loans of the five major domestic commercial banks decreased by approximately 2.7 trillion KRW in one month, marking a decline for the third consecutive month.

As of the end of last month, the outstanding household loans at the five major commercial banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, NH Nonghyup) totaled 703.1937 trillion KRW, down 2.7436 trillion KRW from the previous month. The decrease was larger compared to January (-1.3634 trillion KRW) and February (-1.7522 trillion KRW).

By category, the balance of stock-backed loans increased by 65 billion KRW to 506.7174 trillion KRW compared to the previous month. Although the decline stopped, the increase was minimal due to recent interest rate hikes and the real estate market slump.

Group loans also turned to an increase, rising by 1.5371 trillion KRW to 158.6874 trillion KRW. Jeonse loans continued to increase by 393.8 billion KRW to 131.3349 trillion KRW.

On the other hand, credit loan balances led the overall decline in household loans, decreasing by 2.4579 trillion KRW to 133.3996 trillion KRW. A commercial bank official explained, "With recent interest rate hikes and the asset market slump, borrowers appear to be repaying loans or refraining from taking out new loans."

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