Korean Household Loans Rose KRW 3.5T in March 2026

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Household Loans, March 2026 Apr 08, 2026
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In March 2026, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors increased KRW3.5 trillion (preliminary), growing at a faster pace compared with the previous month (up KRW2.9 trillion).

(By Type) Home-backed mortgage loans rose KRW3.0 trillion, growing at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW4.1 trillion). The pace of growth in mortgage loans slowed down in both the banking (up KRW0.3 trillion → up KRW0.003 trillion) and nonbanking (up KRW3.8 trillion → up KRW3.0 trillion) sectors.

Other types of loans rose KRW0.5 trillion, shifting back up from the decline of KRW1.2 trillion in the previous month, as credit loans (down KRW1.0 trillion → down KRW0.2 trillion) dropped at a slower pace.

(By Sector) In March 2026, household loans in the banking sector rose KRW0.5 trillion, turning back up from the decline of KRW0.4 trillion a month ago. Banks’ own mortgage loans (down KRW1.1 trillion → down KRW1.5 trillion) declined at a faster pace, while policy-based mortgage loans (up KRW1.4 trillion → up KRW1.5 trillion) edged up at a slightly faster pace. Other types of loans (up KRW0.5 trillion) shifted back up from the decline of KRW0.7 trillion a month ago.

In the nonbanking sector, household loans edged up KRW3.0 trillion, growing at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW3.3 trillion). Mutual finance businesses (up KRW3.1 trillion → up KRW2.7 trillion) saw household loans growing more slowly, while insurance companies (up KRW0.2 trillion → up KRW0.6 trillion) saw household loans rising more rapidly. Savings banks (down KRW0.1 trillion → down KRW0.4 trillion) saw household loans falling at a faster pace, while specialized credit finance businesses (up KRW0.1 trillion → up KRW0.1 trillion) saw household loans expanding at a similar level compared with the previous month.

(Assessment) In March 2026, the outstanding balance of household loans (up KRW2.9 trillion → up KRW3.5 trillion) expanded at a somewhat faster pace from a month before led by the growth in other types of loans (down KRW1.2 trillion → up KRW0.5 trillion) and in the nonbanking sector (up KRW3.3 trillion → up KRW3.0 trillion), even though banks’ own mortgage loans (down KRW1.1 trillion → down KRW1.5 trillion) declined at a faster pace. This is mainly attributable to an expanded level of group lending from mutual finance businesses being reflected in the statistics prior to the suspension of new lending coming into effect.

With a scheduled end (May 9) to the provision of capital gains tax exemption for multi-home owners and continuing risks originating from the conflict in the Middle East, it remains possible to see an increased volatility in the pace of household loan growth. Thus, it is necessary to continue to stay vigilant over the trends of household loan growth.

In the meantime, financial companies are urged to take necessary steps to make sure a seamless implementation of the recently announced household debt management measures (to be effective from April 17). The FSC will continue to seek additional measures and examine other areas, such as regulating lending to nonresident single-home owners and further tightening the debt service ratio (DSR) rule, to make sure to stably manage housing market speculation and the pace of household debt growth.

• Please refer to the attached PDF for details.

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