Major banks’ household loans fall in September on restricted borrowing

Household loans by major banks fell for the first time in six months in September, as banks continue to strictly manage rapid borrowing, financial data showed Sunday.

Outstanding household loans at five major lenders — KB Kookmin , Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup — stood at 781.39 trillion won ($580.49 billion) as of Thursday, down 727.6 billion won from the end of August, according to the data compiled by the banks.

It marks the first time since March that the monthly outstanding figure fell on month.

Of them, outstanding mortgage loans stood at 620.5 trillion won as of Thursday, a drop compared to 621.2 trillion won recorded as of the end of August.

The decline came despite the government relaxing the cap on household loans, as banks maintained self-imposed loan restrictions, industry sources said.

The five major lenders are said to have received additional quotas from financial authorities, raising their annual target for household loan growth from 4.3 trillion won in 2025 to 7.1 trillion won this year.

"Once loan supply resumes, driven by collective lending, mortgage growth is highly likely to regain momentum in the near future," a representative from a local bank said.

Excluding policy loans, outstanding household loans at the five major banks maintained an uptrend, increasing by 108.7 billion won from the end of last month, according to the data.

Yonhap