Chairperson Kim Byung-hwan said, "The government and the political sphere must be cautious about intervening strongly in the additional charge rate of banks."
On the 22nd, Chairperson Kim noted during a press briefing held at the Government Seoul Complex that he responded to a question regarding whether he viewed the political sphere's intervention in bank additional charges as justifiable, mentioning that Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, had recently summoned bank presidents.
On the 20th, Lee summoned the heads of six major domestic commercial banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup, and IBK) for a meeting. He initially planned to urge cooperation from the banking sector regarding the banking law amendment the Democratic Party is pursuing. The main content of the amendment stipulates that the additional charge rate should not reflect costs such as insurance premiums and contributions. However, as criticism of excessive market intervention intensified, Lee took a step back during the meeting, stating, "This is not a venue to enforce something," and only urged, "Please be a hope for the common people."
Chairperson Kim remarked, "I learned that there were voices of concern in the media and political sphere as reports emerged that the leader was meeting with bank presidents. Upon reviewing the situation, it turned out to be a meeting to listen to the opinions of the banking sector." He added, "However, despite the Bank of Korea having lowered the benchmark interest rate twice last year, there are aspects where the speed and extent of lending rates by banks have not fully reflected this. Now is the time for banks to reflect the drops in the benchmark rate."
Regarding the household debt management plan for this year, Chairperson Kim stated, "We will continue to maintain our current stance." He affirmed, "The increase in household debt will be managed within the growth rate, and we will establish lending practices that align with repayment capabilities," and added, "The three-phase debt service ratio (DSR) will be implemented as scheduled in July, but the detailed stress rate (additional charge rate) will be announced by April or May at the latest."
Under the currently applied second-phase DSR, the stress rate is differentially applied at 1.2 percentage points for the metropolitan area and 0.75 percentage points for rural areas. The initial plan for the third-phase DSR was to apply the same additional charge rate of 1.5 percentage points for both metropolitan and rural areas; however, adjustments may be made to increase the additional charge rate only for the metropolitan area due to regional economic downturns. Chairperson Kim stated that to support regional economic recovery, he would provide more household loan limits to local banks. He noted, "The annual increase rate of household debt for local banks will be discussed flexibly, affirming that this year's projected growth rate is 3.8%, but local banks will be permitted to exceed this."
Chairperson Kim stated regarding the supply scale of policy loans such as the Ditto and Bulwark loans this year, "We are in the final discussions with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport." It is reported that there are significant differences between the Ministry of Land and the financial authorities regarding the supply scale of policy loans. While the Ministry insists that the supply should be at last year's level (55 trillion won), the financial authorities argue that the scale should be adjusted for household debt management.
Chairperson Kim asserted the need to manage the overall increase in household debt tightly, stating, "I believe it is necessary to control policy loans in accordance with that speed." Responding to previous remarks from Lee Bok-hyun, the head of the Financial Supervisory Service, who warned of the potential adverse effects of policy loan concentration on bank revenue and soundness, he interpreted that as a call for overall management of policy loans as well.
Regarding discussions on sanctions against Upbit by the Financial Information Analysis Unit (FIU), Chairperson Kim stated, "There may be aspects that affect or cause anxiety among Upbit users, so we will come to a conclusion as soon as possible." Previously, the FIU held a sanctions review committee meeting where it deliberated on allegations of money laundering prevention duty violations by Upbit, a virtual asset exchange operated by Dunamu. The specific sanctions results are expected to be announced after next month.
Chairperson Kim emphasized that with regard to the direction of the financial authorities' virtual asset policy, investor protection would be prioritized. He noted, "Although there was no mention of virtual assets in President Donald Trump's inauguration speech, it has become highly likely that he will take a significantly more proactive stance compared to previous commitments." He conveyed that the financial authorities are seeking to find a balance between fostering and protecting investors in virtual asset policies. He added, "Changes may also occur in the virtual asset policies of other countries as well as the U.S., so we are preparing to adjust our pace a bit more quickly according to international trends."