Last month, household loans from banks increased significantly, primarily driven by housing-related loans.
According to the Bank of Korea's report on 'Financial Market Trends' released on May 17, the balance of household loans from deposit banks, including policy mortgage loans, stood at 1,174.9 trillion won at the end of last month, marking an increase of 2.1 trillion won from the previous month.
The rise in household loans was largely attributed to an increase in housing loans. The balance of housing loans rose by 2.7 trillion won to 937.6 trillion won last month. After remaining stable in March, housing loans turned upward in April due to increased housing transactions and demand for interim payments, despite a slowdown in demand for rental funds.
In contrast, the balance of other loans, including credit loans, decreased by 600 billion won to 236.5 trillion won. This decline followed an increase in March driven by stock investment demand, but in April, repayments increased as individuals sold off stocks.
Park Min-cheol, head of the Bank of Korea's Market Analysis Team, stated, "Overall, household loans showed a relatively low growth rate and did not deviate significantly from the government's total management target."
The balance of corporate loans from banks reached 1,397.7 trillion won, reflecting an increase of 10.7 trillion won from the previous month. Loans to small and medium-sized enterprises rose by 5.7 trillion won, driven by demand for corporate lending and value-added tax payments from major banks.
Corporate loans to large enterprises increased by 5 trillion won from the previous month due to heightened demand for repayments of short-term notes, dividend payments, and corporate bond redemptions at the end of the quarter.
As for corporate bonds, the scale of net repayments surged from 300 billion won in March to 3.9 trillion won as companies increased funding through commercial paper and loans amid rising interest rate volatility.
Regarding the outlook for household loans, Park noted, "The leading indicator for household loans can be seen in the housing market. As the housing market in the metropolitan area approaches the end of the grace period for the transfer tax on multiple homeowners, related listings have been absorbed, leading to an increase in prices and a significant rise in transaction volume. While household loans are expected to continue a limited growth trend due to tightened financial sector management, there are still factors of instability in the metropolitan housing market, so it remains to be seen whether a stable trend will emerge."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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