Even if you click 'ding' during business hours, it's in vain... Chaos in 'Mortgage Open Run'

Ahead of the implementation of the third phase of the Debt Service Ratio (DSR) in July, a 'clicking' competition is underway among financial consumers. This is because major banks are limiting the number of loans per day before the loan limit is reduced.

Office worker A has been waiting with the bank app open for three days at 12:10 a.m. to get a mortgage loan. This is the time when the daily loan count of KB Kookmin Bank, where A wants to get a loan, is reset. A said, "It's not easy to get a mortgage from other banks either," and "I'm trying to get a loan by exchanging information in cafes."

On the morning of the 29th, when I tried to apply for a mortgage loan at KB Kookmin Bank's 'Star Banking', I was informed that 'all loan applications available today at Star Banking have been exhausted. Please visit again tomorrow. Loan applications are available at nearby branches.'

■ 'Open Run' for even 0.1%p lower interest rate

KB Kookmin Bank limits the number of non-face-to-face mortgage applications to 150 per day. The interest rate of the product that A is trying to get a loan for is 0.2~0.7%p lower than major commercial banks. As word of mouth spreads among financial consumers with suitable qualifications such as income and assets, a clicking competition is taking place every night.

The situation is similar for internet-only banks. As the popularity of mortgage products in the 3% range soars, more consumers are trying to get loans from KakaoBank and K-Bank. B said, "The interest rate conditions are slightly better at internet banks," and "I have to pay the balance soon, so I wake up at 5:50 every day and try to get a loan from KakaoBank at 6."

The mortgage interest rates of internet banks KakaoBank and K-Bank are slightly lower at 3.84~3.98% than major commercial banks. As the daily loan count is exhausted as soon as business starts at both banks, the clicking competition is becoming more intense. A bank official said, "As the policy of regulating the total amount of household loans continues, the 'open run' phenomenon will continue."

■ Steep rise in household loans"

As demand rushes in before the implementation of the stress DSR, the scale of household loans at banks is also increasing steeply. As of the 27th, the balance of household loans at the five major banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup) increased by 4.1575 trillion won to 747.2423 trillion won compared to the end of the previous month (743.0848 trillion won). Considering the speed, it is expected to increase the most this year. There is also a forecast that it will surpass last month's increase (4.5337 trillion won) and record the largest scale since August 2024 (9.6259 trillion won).

In particular, the increase in mortgage loans is noticeable. The balance of mortgage loans this month has expanded by 3.1935 trillion won compared to last month. It is likely to exceed the increase in April (3.7495 trillion won), which surged due to the temporary lifting of the land transaction permit system.

As the global stock market fluctuates due to the U.S.-originated tariff war, credit loans are also increasing rapidly. The balance of credit loans increased by 962.9 billion won compared to the previous month, already surpassing the increase in April (886.8 billion won). If the increase in credit loans this month exceeds 1 trillion won, it will be the first time in more than four years since 2021.

As the interest rate cut phase has already begun, bank loan interest rates are gradually decreasing. As the base rate fell on this day, loan demand is expected to heat up even more. According to the announcement by the Korea Federation of Banks, the average interest rate on newly handled mortgage loans at the five major commercial banks in April was 4.05%. It fell by 0.254%p from the previous month's average of 4.304%.

Some banks have entered the 3% range for mortgage interest rates. Woori Bank fell by 0.28%p from 4.23% to 3.95%, recording an average of 3%. Kookmin Bank also fell by 0.18%p from 4.16% to 3.98%, entering the 3% range.

mj@fnnews.com Park Mun-su, Lee Joo-mi reporters