Seoul: South Korea's three internet-only banks will limit the rise in their household loan extensions this year to less than 5 percent, data showed Tuesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the data compiled by Kakao Bank, K-Bank, and Toss Bank, and submitted to Rep. Lee In-young of the main opposition Democratic Party, indicates that the three banks plan to increase their outstanding household loans by 4.8 percent, or 3.3 trillion won (US$2.26 billion), this year. This planned increase is significantly lower than last year's 8.26 trillion-won rise in household loans.
The data specifies that these loans exclude policy loans, such as those designed for low-income earners and newlyweds. Last year, the outstanding household loans for these internet-only banks stood at 69.54 trillion won, marking a significant increase from 33.84 trillion won in 2021.
A notable trend has been the surge in mortgage loans from Kakao Bank and K-Bank, which together reached 34.47 trillion won by the end of September, up from 10.31 trillion won in 2021. Meanwhile, Toss Bank is preparing to enter the mortgage lending market next year.