SEOUL, May 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s interest rate freeze is seen as reflecting its improving economic fundamentals and the central bank’s stance to size up the effect of the new government’s economic policy on growth. As widely expected, the Bank of Korea (BOK) held the country’s benchmark interest rate at a record low [...]
SEOUL, April 3 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korea Institute of Finance suggested Sunday that drastically reducing household debt could shrink consumption, raising a dilemma for those crafting South Korean economic policy to combat the struggle to cope with soaring debt and waning domestic consumption. According to researcher Park Choon-sung in his report on household debt [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean household debt rose in 2016 from a year earlier as people borrowed money from banks and other financial companies to buy homes, and invest in real estate and businesses, government data showed Tuesday. The average household debt was tallied at 66.55 million won (US$56,000) as of end-March [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The ratio of South Korean savings banks’ loans extended to households hit a record amid shrinking corporate investment, data showed Sunday. Their outstanding loans totaled 41.1 trillion won (US$34.9 billion) as of end-September, up 15.77 percent from the end of last year, according to the Bank of Korea’s economic [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea said Thursday it will soon introduce a new early warning system for potential risks from the nation’s massive household debt, especially as interest rates here may soon start an upward trend. Household debt totaled 1,295.8 trillion won (US$1.1 trillion) as of the end of September, up 3 [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Growing household debt and a looming U.S. rate hike are two major systemic risks facing South Korea’s financial system, a survey showed Thursday. The household debt issue topped the list of key systemic risks cited by market watchers at 70 percent, compared with 54 percent in April, according to [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top financial regulator, nominated to lead the finance ministry, on Wednesday vowed to make all-out efforts to address the household debt problem. Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), described it as a potential “core risk factor” especially as South Korea may have to raise [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – A growing number of South Korean households face the risk of defaulting on their debts, a potential “time bomb” for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a lawmaker said Tuesday. The number of “marginal” households came to 1.34 million as of March last year, a sharp increase from 1.12 million three years [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will control the supply of new apartments in a bid to curb demand for mortgage loans, the main culprit for soaring household debt in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, government officials announced Thursday. Household credit jumped 11.1 percent on-year to an all-time high of 1,257.3 trillion won (US$1,123.5 billion) [...]
SEOUL, July 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Household loans extended by local banks continued to rise at a fast rate in June, apparently on record low interest rates, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding household loans extended by local lenders came to 667.5 trillion won (US$582.67 billion) as of the end of last month, up 6.6 [...]