韩国五大银行家庭贷款额度上调但实际新增空间仅约3100亿韩元

South Korea's financial regulators raised the household lending growth target for the country's five largest banks by more than 2.6 trillion won ($1.9 billion), but the banks have only about 300 billion won in additional lending capacity left, industry data showed. Strict volume controls remain in place for individual mortgages and unsecured personal loans, unlike group loans tied to apartment complexes, meaning borrowers are expected to keep racing to secure funds before limits run out.
The combined household lending growth target for the five banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — was expanded to 6.98 trillion won from 4.34 trillion won, an increase of about 2.64 trillion won, according to financial industry sources on the 30th. Measured as growth from the end of last year, the ceiling for each bank rose to between 1.0% and 1.1% from 0.6% to 0.7%. The change followed the regulators' decision this month to lift the allowable growth rate for total household lending to 3.0% from 1.5%.
The banks have little actual room to lend more, however. Regulators manage each bank's volume target based on household lending that excludes policy-backed products. For the five banks, household lending excluding policy products rose 6.67 trillion won to 651.64 trillion won as of the 27th of this month, from 644.97 trillion won at the end of last year. That already overshoots the previous annual growth target by 2.33 trillion won.
That leaves only about 310 billion won before the new ceiling is reached. "Some banks are already so close to the new target that taking on additional loans is effectively impossible," a financial industry official said. "Banks that exceeded their original targets early were penalized when the targets were reallocated."
Household lending is also showing no sign of slowing. Household loan balances at the five banks, including policy products, stood at 781.44 trillion won as of the 27th, up 2.46 trillion won from the end of the previous month. Mortgage lending rose 2.48 trillion won over the same period, while unsecured personal loans fell 21.8 billion won. The mortgage increase was driven mainly by group loans, which regulators had told banks to supply without disruption. Group loans alone rose 1.05 trillion won in about a month, the largest gain since September 2024.
Starting next month, regulators will exclude the entire net increase in group loans from each bank's volume calculation. Seventy percent of the increase in unsecured loans to borrowers with mid-to-low credit scores will also be exempt. But balance-payment loans for purchases of individual homes and general unsecured loans remain subject to volume controls.
As a result, the easing is expected to benefit mainly group loans for rebuilding and redevelopment projects and for newly completed complexes awaiting move-in. Analysts note that ordinary borrowers buying existing homes or seeking funds for living expenses will still face a high hurdle.
Online property forums are filled with posts from people worried about whether their loans will be approved in time for closing dates, or who say they apply daily for mortgages at internet-only banks while waiting in line at commercial lenders. "For general household loans excluding group loans, there isn't much of the annual quota left through year-end," an official at a commercial bank said. "The rush to apply before limits are exhausted could continue for some time."