In the first half of this year, issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) totaled 26.6 trillion won, up 26.5% from the same period last year, helped by expanded issuance of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) by the Korea Housing Finance Corporation. ABS are securities issued on the basis of low-liquidity assets such as real estate, accounts receivable, and mortgage loans.
According to the "registered ABS issuance performance in the first half of 2026" the Financial Supervisory Service released on the 29th, registered ABS issuance in the first half came to 26.5835 trillion won, up 5.5729 trillion won from a year earlier (21.0106 trillion won).
By underlying asset, issuance of ABS backed by loan receivables and accounts receivable increased, while primary collateralized bond obligations (P-CBO) backed by corporate bonds decreased.
Issuance of loan receivables-backed ABS was 16.98 trillion won, up 33.7% from the first half of last year. Of that, MBS surged 118.1% to 11.7179 trillion won on increased sales of the Bogeumjari loan. In contrast, real estate project financing (PF)-backed ABS fell 51.0% to 1.8652 trillion won, and nonperforming loan (NPL)-backed ABS also decreased 3.5% to 3.3969 trillion won.
Accounts receivable-backed ABS rose 37.7% to 6.9751 trillion won as issuance of credit card receivables and installment finance receivables increased. Credit card receivables climbed 92.9% to 2.8977 trillion won, while installment finance receivables rose 90.0% to 1.9254 trillion won. In contrast, corporations' accounts receivable-backed ABS fell 15.6% to 2.152 trillion won.
Issuance of P-CBOs backed by corporate bonds as the underlying asset decreased 19.1% to 2.6284 trillion won.
By asset holder, ABS issuance by public corporations rose sharply. Helped by increased MBS issuance by the Korea Housing Finance Corporation, public corporations' issuance totaled 11.9869 trillion won, up 123.1%. Financial companies recorded 10.5794 trillion won, up 14.0%, on increased issuance of ABS backed by credit card receivables. In contrast, general companies fell 36.8% to 4.0172 trillion won due to a decline in real estate PF-backed ABS issuance.
As of the end of June, the outstanding balance of registered ABS was 246.5 trillion won, up 1.4% from the same period last year.
The Financial Supervisory Service cited increased MBS issuance driven by expanded sales of the Bogeumjari loan as a first-half feature. First-half MBS issuance was 11.7 trillion won, more than double the 5.4 trillion won in the same period last year.
Also, following an amendment to the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund Act, the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT) issued, for the first time, securitized beneficiary certificates using a self-trust structure that utilizes its own trust account. In June, KODIT issued 269 billion won in securitized beneficiary certificates and plans additional issuance in the second half.