Following last month's launch of a 500 million won in-house loan,

Samsung Electronics' credit union raises its housing loan ceiling to 300 million won,

opening a combined funding channel of up to 800 million won.

DSR-applicable loan also available to existing homeowners.

Samsung Electronics [Photo: Yonhap]
Samsung Electronics [Photo: Yonhap]

Samsung Electronics' credit union has raised the ceiling on its housing purchase loan for Samsung Electronics employees to a maximum of 300 million won ($221,000). Combined with the company's own low-interest in-house loan of up to 500 million won, which took effect last month, employees can now tap a total of up to 800 million won in home-buying funds — up from the previous ceiling of 700 million won.

Samsung Electronics Saemaul Geumgo raised the limit on its guarantee insurance purchase loan for employees with two or more years of service from 200 million won to 300 million won on Thursday, exactly one month after the company's in-house loan program launched. Employees with less than two years of service saw their limit rise from 150 million won to 270 million won, an increase of 120 million won. Loans for homes priced above 2.5 billion won are capped at 200 million won. Interest rates range from 3.29 to 5.09 percent.

A Samsung Electronics Saemaul Geumgo official said the increase restored a limit that had previously been trimmed under tighter lending regulations. "The ceiling was originally 300 million won, then lowered slightly due to loan regulations, and has now been raised back," the official said.

The guarantee insurance purchase loan is a home-buying product available to Samsung Electronics employees purchasing or pre-buying a home. Unlike a standard mortgage, which places a collateral lien on the property, it is classified as a non-mortgage secured loan backed by guarantee insurance. While it is subject to the debt service ratio (DSR) requirement, it is available even to employees who already own one home — a restriction that applies to conventional mortgages.

The limit increase is drawing particular attention because it coincides with the residential stability loan Samsung Electronics introduced Sept. 1. Adding the two products' maximum limits together, employees buying a home can now access up to 800 million won — 500 million won from the in-house loan and 300 million won from the credit union.

Under the in-house program launched Sept. 1, Samsung Electronics lends qualifying employees up to 500 million won at an annual rate of around 1.5 percent to purchase a home. Eligible properties must be priced at 2.5 billion won or less and have a dedicated floor area of no more than 85 square meters. A first-priority collateral lien is placed on the purchased property, but the loan is exempt from the DSR cap.

As Samsung Electronics employees gain greater purchasing power, attention is turning to the potential impact on the housing market in southern Gyeonggi Province — the so-called "semiconductor belt" near the company's major campuses.

Weekly apartment price data released by the Korea Real Estate Board on Thursday, based on figures as of Monday, showed that apartment sale prices in Gyeonggi Province rose 0.15 percent from the previous week, outpacing Seoul's 0.09 percent gain.

The uptick was especially pronounced in southern Gyeonggi, where Samsung Electronics' facilities are concentrated. Apartment prices in Hwaseong's Dongtan district climbed 0.47 percent in a single week, one of the highest gains in the province. Suwon's Yeongtong district rose 0.37 percent and Yongin's Giheung district gained 0.23 percent. Both Yeongtong and Giheung extended their upward streaks, having risen 1.09 percent and 0.48 percent, respectively, the previous week.

Meanwhile, Saemaul Geumgo credit unions have been tightening household lending throughout this year. Last year, their household loans grew by 5.3 trillion won — more than four times the target of 1.2 trillion won — prompting financial regulators to impose a zero net increase penalty for this year.

In response, the credit unions suspended group loans and broker-arranged loans in February and blocked non-member mortgage loans in May. Samsung Electronics Saemaul Geumgo, which accounted for about 10 percent of the sector's total loan growth last year, trimmed its outstanding balance by approximately 36.5 billion won in the first half of this year.

The mood shifted in August, when the government raised the household loan growth target from 1.5 percent to 3 percent and excluded group loans from individual lenders' caps. Saemaul Geumgo credit unions were allocated an additional 300 billion to 500 billion won in lending capacity and resumed group loans for the first time in six months.


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