Bank of Korea's September financial market trends report
June increase of 7.6 trillion won was largest in 22 months
September gain narrows sharply to 600 billion won
'Decline in retail stock investment played a major role'
A sharp drop in credit loans tied to declining stock investment pushed monthly growth in bank household lending lower for a third consecutive month in September.
The outstanding balance of household loans at deposit-taking banks — including policy mortgage loans — stood at 1,198.9 trillion won ($896 billion) at the end of September, up 600 billion won from the end of August, according to the Bank of Korea's financial market trends report released Thursday.
The monthly increase had surged to 7.6 trillion won in June, the largest gain in 22 months since August 2024, when it rose 9.2 trillion won. It then shrank consecutively — to 5.5 trillion won in July and 3.5 trillion won in August.
Breaking down figures by loan type, the outstanding balance of mortgage loans rose 2.9 trillion won to 955.5 trillion won, a smaller increase than the previous month's 4.1 trillion won gain. The balance of other loans, including credit loans, fell 2.3 trillion won to 242.6 trillion won — a decline roughly four times larger than the previous month's decrease of 600 billion won.
Lee Seung-yeop, a deputy director at the Bank of Korea's market operations team, said jeonse loan balances fell due to a slowdown in jeonse transactions and a decline in new move-in volume, while growth in group loans also eased. "Individual mortgage loans maintained a relatively steady upward trend," he added. On the drop in other loans, Lee said the decline in retail investors' stock investment was a major contributing factor, alongside seasonal elements such as the disposal and write-off of non-performing loans and holiday bonuses.
On the Aug. 13 real estate measures, Lee said home prices had fallen in the three Gangnam districts and Yongsan-gu but continued to rise in other parts of Seoul and some areas of Gyeonggi Province. "We plan to closely monitor how housing price trends affect household loans," he said.
kimstar@heraldcorp.com
