In the first quarter this year, the volume of registered asset-backed securities (ABS) issuance rose sharply. The increase is seen as driven by a surge in issuances backed by mortgage-backed securities (MBS) following expanded sales of the Bogeumjari loan.
The Financial Supervisory Service said on Apr. 29 that, according to its "Registered ABS issuance performance for the first quarter of 2026," ABS issuance reached 11.4 trillion won, up 3 trillion won (36%) from a year earlier.
By securitized asset, ABS issuances backed by loan receivables totaled 7.6131 trillion won, up 38.1%. Of that, MBS-based issuance was 5.0847 trillion won, soaring 92% from a year earlier. In contrast, issuances related to corporations and personal credit and real estate project financing (PF) fell 6.9% and 15.6%, respectively.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said expanded sales of the Bogeumjari loan affected MBS issuance. In fact, Bogeumjari loan sales rose from 3.8 trillion won in the first quarter of 2025 to around 5 trillion won as of Feb. 2026.
ABS issuances backed by accounts receivable increased by 1.2 trillion won (59.6%) from a year earlier. Specifically, issuances backed by card receivables and installment finance receivables were 1.761 trillion won and 420 billion won, respectively, surging 116% and 394% from a year earlier. In contrast, issuances backed by corporations' accounts receivable fell 9.8%.
By issuer, Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF) posted 5.0847 trillion won, up 2.4 trillion won (92%), while financial companies totaled 4.6242 trillion won, up 1.6 trillion won (51.7%). General corporations decreased by 1 trillion won (38.5%) due to reduced ABS issuances backed by real estate PF.
Outstanding issuance stood at 243.9 trillion won, down 7.1 trillion won (2.8%) from a year earlier.