Major banks report significant rise in household loans in April
Published: 04 May. 2026, 16:52
![A person walks past ATMs of South Korea's major banks in Seoul, in this file photo taken Dec. 21, 2025. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/04/1fff332a-f51f-4d9e-831a-be859e9258ce.jpg)
A person walks past ATMs of South Korea's major banks in Seoul, in this file photo taken Dec. 21, 2025. [YONHAP]
Household loans by major banks increased the most since October last month due to a rise in mortgage loans, financial data showed Monday.
Outstanding household loans from the country's five major banks — KB Kookmin, Woori, Hana, Shinhan and NH Nonghyup — stood at 765.73 trillion won ($520 billion) at the end of April, up 1.57 trillion won from the previous month.
The April gain marks the sharpest rise since October, when such loans increased 2.53 trillion won.
Household loans declined slightly in March after rising in February, and had fallen for two consecutive months in January and December.
Mortgage loans by banks came in at 612.24 trillion won last month, rising 1.91 trillion won from a month earlier, which marks the largest rise since the 3.7 trillion won gain posted in August 2025, the data showed.
Such loans fell 387 billion won in March after rising 597 billion won in February as the government has been implementing a series of measures to cool the overheated housing market and curb household debt.
Under a comprehensive policy package announced in October, the government designated 21 additional districts in Seoul as speculative zones, bringing all 25 districts in the capital under stricter regulatory oversight.
It also tightened lending rules, lowering the cap on mortgage loans to as little as 200 million won, down from the 600 million won limit set in June.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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