The scale of individual investors' "debt-fueled investing" in the second quarter hit a record high.
According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on the 5th, the daily average balance of margin loans from April to June was 35.9418 trillion won. That was up 15.9% from the previous quarter's daily average of 31.0126 trillion won.
The balance of margin loans refers to the amount investors borrowed from securities firms to buy stocks that has not yet been repaid. It is a key indicator showing the scale of individual investors' debt-fueled investing.
The balance of margin loans is money borrowed from securities firms to purchase stocks that has not yet been paid back, serving as a key indicator for gauging debt-fueled investing.
Individual investors' margin-loan balance was in the 32 trillion-won range at the start of the second quarter but surged to 38.6328 trillion won on the 24th of last month. As the domestic stock market showed a boom, individual investors appeared to actively invest in stocks even by taking on debt.
Along with the balance of margin-loan transactions, pledged-securities collateral loans are also continuing to run high. Pledged-securities collateral loans refer to funds borrowed with stocks as collateral.
In the second quarter, the balance of pledged-securities collateral loans averaged 25.9666 trillion won per day. Although that was a slight decrease from the first quarter average of 26.0296 trillion won, it remains at a high level.
The scale of debt-fueled investing in the second quarter, combining margin loans and pledged-securities collateral loans, averaged 61.9084 trillion won per day, marking a record high.