Lenders forced to further limit household loan growth, not to extend loans to owners of multiple homes

▲ Shown in this file photo taken Jan. 15, 2026, are apartment buildings in Seoul. (Yonhap)

▲ A banner promoting home-backed loans is displayed at a bank in Seoul on March 15, 2026. (Yonhap)

household loans-curbs

Lenders forced to further limit household loan growth, not to extend loans to owners of multiple homes

SEOUL, April 1 (Yonhap) -- All local lenders in South Korea will be forced to further tighten their household lending this year and not extend loans to owners of multiple homes, the financial regulator said Wednesday, in a stepped-up move to rein in record household debts.

Banks, insurers and other lending institutions will be asked to keep their annual aggregate household loan growth at under 1.5 percent this year, down from the previous year's 1.7 percent gain, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

Every year, banks are advised to set their loan growth at certain levels to prevent a sharp rise in household debts.

With the measure, the ratio of household debt to the gross domestic product will be reduced to between 87 percent and 87.5 percent this year, down from 89.6 percent in 2024 and 88.8 percent in 2025, according to the regulator.

The FSC said all financial institutions will also be required to tighten their grip on mortgage loans, a key source for ballooning household debts.

The latest measures will also center on owners of multiple homes with their mortgage loans not to be further extended.

Owners of two or more homes in the wider Seoul area and speculative zones will be forced to repay, or refinance their mortgage loans.

Housing prices remain a key policy issue for President Lee Jae Myung. He has pledged to stabilize the housing market, saying rising home prices are forcing many young people to give up plans for marriage and childbirth.

The government has been implementing a series of measures to cool the overheated housing market and curb household debt.

Under a comprehensive policy package announced in October, the government designated 21 additional districts in Seoul as speculative zones, bringing all 25 districts in the capital under stricter regulations.

It also tightened lending rules, lowering the cap on mortgage loans to as little as 200 million won (US$130,900), down from the 600 million-won limit set in June.

Against this backdrop, household loans have recorded a downward trend since December. Household loans extended by banks fell for the third consecutive month in February.

For the full year of 2025, household credit, including mortgage loans, increased by 56.1 trillion won, or 2.9 percent, from a year earlier, marking the fastest growth since 2021.

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