Mortgage Loans Rise Again in April... Largest Increase in 8 Months

April Mortgage Loan Balance Reaches 612 Trillion Won
Up 1.9 Trillion Won from Previous Month

Last month, the outstanding balance of mortgage loans at major commercial banks saw its largest increase in eight months. As funds that had previously moved to the stock market flowed back into real estate, the trend in household lending appears to have shifted back toward expansion.

Yonhap News Agency

According to the financial sector on May 4, the outstanding balance of mortgage loans at the five major banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup) stood at 612.2443 trillion won at the end of April. This represents an increase of 1.9104 trillion won from the previous month, marking the largest rise in eight months since August last year (+3.7012 trillion won).

The outstanding balance of mortgage loans has been fluctuating since January. In January, it decreased by 1.4836 trillion won, then increased by 596.7 billion won in February. In March, it fell by 387.2 billion won, but rebounded in April. The total outstanding balance of household loans also rose by 1.567 trillion won, from 765.729 trillion won at the end of March to 767.296 trillion won at the end of April. This is the largest increase since October last year (+2.527 trillion won).

In particular, group loans for individuals increased by 220.1 billion won, turning to an upward trend. This is the first increase in one year and seven months since September 2024 (+1.1771 trillion won).

At the end of April, the outstanding balance of time deposits was 937.1834 trillion won, a decrease of 273.1 billion won from the end of March. The balance of demand deposits, which serve as standby funds, decreased by 3.3557 trillion won to 696.5524 trillion won, marking a decline for the first time in three months. Personal credit loans shifted from a 347.5 billion won increase in March to a 318.2 billion won decrease in April, while loans to individual business owners increased by 362.2 billion won, continuing an upward trend for the third consecutive month.

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