Money Supply Rises by 600 Billion Won in February... Savings Deposits Up, CD Issuance Down

Bank of Korea Releases "Monetary and Liquidity Trends for February 2026"

In February, the amount of money circulating in the market saw a slight increase, mainly centered around savings deposits.

An employee is holding a 50,000 won bill at the Hana Bank Counterfeit Response Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the "Monetary and Liquidity Trends for February 2026" released by the Bank of Korea on April 15, the average seasonally adjusted balance of broad money (M2) for February stood at 4,114 trillion won, up by 600 billion won from the previous month. This marks the third consecutive month of growth since December of last year. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, M2 increased by 4.9% compared to the same month last year. M2 is a broad measure of money supply that includes cash, demand deposits, and savings deposits with immediate withdrawal (M1), as well as money market funds (MMFs), time deposits and installment savings with maturities under two years, negotiable certificates of deposit (CDs), and repurchase agreements (RPs).

The previous definition of M2, which includes beneficiary certificates, increased by 0.8% from the previous month and by 9.1% from the same month last year.

Savings deposits with immediate withdrawal increased by 4.5 trillion won, while market-type products decreased by 3.7 trillion won. A Bank of Korea official explained, "The increase in savings deposits with immediate withdrawal was due to an accumulation of funds from local government budgets awaiting execution," adding, "Market-type products declined as the issuance of CDs decreased due to worsening issuance conditions and reduced funding demand."

By economic sector, liquidity increased for non-financial corporations (+5 trillion won) and other financial institutions (+9.4 trillion won). In contrast, it decreased for households and nonprofit organizations (-10.5 trillion won).

The average M1 balance stood at 1,357.8 trillion won, up 0.1% from the previous month.

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