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Household loan growth slows down in Nov. amid tight lending rules

Published: 10 Dec. 2025, 13:38

Apartments are seen from Mount Namsan in central Seoul on Nov. 24. [NEWS1]

Household loans extended by Korean banks grew at a slower pace in November amid tightened lending regulations aimed at cooling the overheated property market in the capital region, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Banks' outstanding household loans stood at 1.18 quadrillion won ($799.62 billion) as of end-November, up 1.9 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The growth slowed from the 3.5 trillion-won increase tallied in the previous month.

Home-backed loans rose 700 billion won on month to 935.5 trillion won, decelerating from a 2 trillion-won gain in October. Unsecured and other types of household loans climbed 1.2 trillion won to 239.2 trillion won in November, following a 1.4 trillion won gain a month earlier.

"Mortgage loans grew at a slower clip despite the increase in housing transactions prior to the Oct. 15 measures, as banks continued to tighten household lending and demand for jeonse loans declined," a BOK official said.

Under the tightened rules announced in mid-October, the government designated 21 more districts in Seoul as speculative zones, placing all 25 districts in the capital under stricter regulations. It also toughened lending limits, capping mortgage loans at as little as 200 million won.

Jeonse is a unique housing rental system in Korea in which tenants make a large lump-sum deposit that is fully returned at the end of the lease.

"Other household loans continued to increase markedly amid an expansion in both domestic and overseas stock investments," the official added.

The Kospi has surged nearly 70 percent so far this year, driven by the semiconductor market upcycle, optimism over the AI boom and government-led market reform measures.

The data also showed that corporate loans increased 6.2 trillion won on month in November, up from a 5.9 trillion-won rise the previous month.

Outstanding corporate loans stood at 1,372.2 trillion won at the end of November, the BOK said.

Yonhap