The pace of growth in Korea's mortgage loans slowed down sharply in the first quarter compared to a year earlier due to stricter lending rules and falls in real estate transactions, bank data showed Monday.
Under the government's new guidelines announced early this year, borrowers in the Seoul metropolitan area are required by begin to pay down the monthly installments of principal and interest at the same time, soon after the execution of loans.
Apartment complex in Seoul (Yonhap)
The accumulated mortgages rolled out by six major lenders -- KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, KEB Hana Bank, NH Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea -- stood at 355.39 trillion won in the January-March quarter this year, up 4.339 trillion won from the October-December quarter, according to the data.
In the first quarter last year, home mortgages increased by 7.696 trillion won from a quarter earlier. This shows that the pace of growth in mortgages is slowing down due to the government measures to curb the country's soaring household debt.
Household debt jumped 10 percent year-on-year to 1,166 trillion won at the end of September last year, according to the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)