Service-Sector Loans Rise by Nearly 20 Trillion Won in Q2, Largest Increase in Three and a Half Years

[Financial News] Service-sector loans rose by nearly 20 trillion won in the second quarter of this year, recording their largest increase in three and a half years. In contrast, manufacturing-sector loans increased by about 8 trillion won from the previous quarter, limiting their growth to a single-digit rate.
According to the industry-by-industry loan statistics for deposit-taking institutions for the second quarter of 2026, released by the Bank of Korea on the 7th, service-sector loans stood at 1,313.1 trillion won at the end of the second quarter, up 19.9 trillion won from the end of the previous quarter.
The increase was driven by factors including higher margin requirements in the derivatives market and expanded loan guarantees for real estate project financing (PF).
The increase was the largest since the fourth quarter of 2022, when it reached 26.1 trillion won.
By service-sector industry, loans to the real estate and financial and insurance industries increased substantially.
Real estate loans rose by 6.2 trillion won, up 3.7 trillion won from the previous quarter’s 2.5 trillion won increase. The rise reflected improved lending conditions as the guarantee limit for real estate PF loans was raised.
Loans to the financial and insurance industries also increased by 6.2 trillion won during the same period, up significantly from the previous quarter’s 4.8 trillion won. The increase was driven by higher borrowing, particularly among securities firms, following the rise in margin requirements in the derivatives market.
Manufacturing-sector loans stood at 521.5 trillion won in the second quarter, up 8.4 trillion won from the previous quarter. The increase was considerably smaller than the 11 trillion won rise recorded in the previous quarter.
Manufacturing facility loans increased by 1.4 trillion won, a sharp slowdown from the previous quarter’s 4.4 trillion won increase. Facility lending declined as companies worked to manage their financial ratios at the end of the half-year and some repaid loans early.
Loans to all industries increased only slightly in the second quarter.
The balance of loans to all industries stood at 2,065.3 trillion won, up 30.6 trillion won from the previous quarter. The size of the increase has fluctuated, rising from 9.7 trillion won in the fourth quarter of last year to 30.8 trillion won in the first quarter of this year.
Kim Seong-jun of the BOK’s Financial Statistics Team explained, "Although the increase slowed somewhat in the second quarter, the overall growth rate of industry loans is rising. The government’s productive-finance policy, together with banks’ strategies to expand corporate lending, had an impact."
By purpose, working-capital loans increased by 23.8 trillion won, while facility loans rose by 6.9 trillion won.
[email protected] Jung Sang-gyun Reporter