“Household loans fall by 2.2 trillion won” ... First net decline in nine months; mortgage loans rise by 3.3 trillion won

[Financial News] Household loans across the financial sector fell by 2.2 trillion won last month from the previous month, marking the first net decline since December last year. Mortgage loans continued to rise, but their growth slowed, while credit loans plunged. The “borrow to invest” craze has subsided amid a weak stock market.
According to the “September 2026 Household Loan Trends (Preliminary)” data released by the Financial Services Commission on the 15th, mortgage loans rose by 3.3 trillion won last month. That was about 1 trillion won less than the 4.3 trillion won increase in the previous month, August.
Banks tightened lending standards. Mortgage loans across all banks rose by 1.8 trillion won last month. General loans increased by 1.6 trillion won and group loans by 700 billion won, while jeonse loans, by contrast, fell by 500 billion won. Policy loan products Didimdol and Beotimmok rose by 1.1 trillion won, and Bogeumjari Loans increased by 20 billion won. The increase in bank mortgage loans slowed from 4.1 trillion won in August to 2.9 trillion won. This is seen as the result of the FSC tightening household lending to stabilize real estate prices.
The increase in policy loans held at 1.1 trillion won. Other loans fell by 5.5 trillion won, a much larger decline than the 1.5 trillion won decrease in the previous month. As the “borrow to invest” enthusiasm cooled, the decline in credit loans widened sharply from 400 billion won in the previous month to 3 trillion won last month.
By sector, household loans at banks increased by 600 billion won, a sharp slowdown from the 3.5 trillion won increase in the previous month. Other loans fell by 2.3 trillion won, a wider decline than the 600 billion won decrease in the previous month. Household loans at nonbank financial institutions fell by 2.8 trillion won, compared with a 700 billion won decline in the previous month. The decline widened at mutual finance institutions, insurers, and specialized credit finance companies, while savings banks shifted from a 300 billion won increase to a 400 billion won decrease.
Shin Jin-chang, Secretary General of the FSC, assessed, “Household loans posted their first net decline of the year in September as growth in mortgage loans slowed and the decline in other loans widened. Fewer housing transactions and move-ins, the sale and write-off of nonperforming loans at quarter-end, holiday bonuses, and other seasonal factors also had an impact.” He added, “We recently raised the target for managing aggregate household lending from 1.5% annual growth to around 3.0%, and group loans are managed separately from each financial company’s overall lending target, so concerns about a year-end lending crunch are likely to be limited.” This means the government intends to maintain a strict approach to managing household loans while lowering borrowing barriers for genuine end users through targeted regulatory easing.
Regarding follow-up measures to the 8.13 policy package, Secretary General Shin said, “Measures to eliminate the marriage penalty for Bogeumjari Loans and strengthen support for special jeonse loan guarantees for young people who do not own homes will take effect on the 19th.” He described them as “measures that can provide practical help with housing stability for genuine end users, including young people and newlyweds.” He also urged each financial company to make every effort to update its IT systems, train employees, and inform customers.
He also urged the financial sector to conduct thorough checks so that genuine end users can obtain loans without disruption in line with the financing plans they anticipated at the time of presale, given that group loans for newly built complexes receiving residents are now fully excluded from each financial company’s overall lending target. The financial authorities said, “If financing difficulties arise at an individual presale project, we will quickly assess the situation and resolve the problems faced by genuine end users.”
[email protected] Park Mun-su Reporter