A person passes by data on a financial institution’s mortgage applications on the outside of a lender in Seoul, March 13. Yonhap
Banks in Korea are anticipated to proceed to ease their stances on extending home-backed loans within the second quarter of the 12 months, a central financial institution survey confirmed Friday.
According to the ballot of monetary establishments, together with 18 banks, carried out by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the index gauging banks’ perspective towards home mortgages stood at 8 for the April-June interval.
The determine compares with 3 the earlier quarter and minus 14 over the last quarter of final 12 months.
A studying above zero means the variety of lenders that can ease lending standards surpasses that of banks planning to tighten lending standards.
The ballot additionally confirmed the credit score dangers for debtors within the first quarter will doubtless stay excessive as a result of rising debt burden from excessive borrowing prices pushed by the BOK’s price hikes to curb inflation.
The index gauging credit score dangers for households and businesses stood at 37 within the second quarter of this 12 months, up from the earlier quarter’s 32.
Earlier this month, the BOK froze its key price at 3.5 % for the tenth straight session amid woes over lower-than-expected inflation moderation and stated it should hold its restrictive stance for an extended interval.
The BOK has stood pat following price freezes in February, April, May, July, August, October and November final 12 months. The price freezes got here after the BOK delivered seven consecutive price hikes from April 2022 to January 2023. (Yonhap)
