Major banks have simultaneously resumed non-face-to-face mortgage loan sales. Financial authorities are ordering banks to manage household loans rigorously to prevent the rekindling of 'young-gle (you borrow to the point of your soul)' and are simultaneously strengthening monitoring.
According to the financial sector on the 23rd, Woori Bank resumed non-face-to-face mortgage loan sales from 9 a.m. on the same day. It has been a month since it suspended non-face-to-face mortgage loan sales immediately after the announcement of the household loan regulations on June 27. Prior to this, KB Kookmin Bank resumed non-face-to-face mortgage loan sales from the 11th, Shinhan Bank from the 16th, and NH Nonghyup Bank from the 18th. Hana Bank is also expected to normalize non-face-to-face mortgage loan sales within this month.
As a result, the possibility of a resurgence in mortgage loan applications, which had sharply declined after the regulation announcement, has increased. Since the demand for mortgage loans itself has not decreased, once the restrictions are lifted, the growth rate of household loans can accelerate at any time. A financial authority official noted, 'We are closely monitoring whether mortgage loan applications increase after the resumption of non-face-to-face mortgage sales' and added, 'We are reviewing the number of applications daily, and so far there are no unusual matters.'
Financial authorities are focusing on reducing the supply of loans themselves. They have instructed that the target for the increase in household loans (excluding policy loans) in the second half of this year be reduced to half, and the five major banks, including KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup, have significantly lowered their target from 7.2 trillion won to 3.6 trillion won.
However, the growth rate of household loans is expected to continue until August. There is a delay of 2 to 3 months between application and execution for mortgage loans, and since there are many loan applications that piled up before the enforcement of regulations, it is unlikely that the scale of household loans will significantly decrease by August, according to financial authorities. The Bank of Korea also said in its 'June Financial Market Trends' report, 'The impact of the surge in housing transactions in May and June is expected to be reflected in July and August with a time lag.'
Financial authorities are focusing on blocking 'bypass routes' for loans to maximize regulatory effects. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) organized a dedicated inspection team for 'business loans' starting from the 17th and launched on-site investigations across the entire financial sector. This is to prevent the use of business loans, which are not subject to loan limit regulations, for purchasing dwellings. The FSS plans to consider loan recovery, freezing of financial transactions, and even requests for investigation into improper loans when misuse of business loans is detected.