Financial authorities are expanding the management scope of the 'June 27 real estate loan regulation' to include online investment-linked finance (investment businesses) and lending. This seems aimed at preemptively blocking any schemes or loophole loans to evade the 'housing mortgage loan (home mortgage) limit of 600 million won.'
According to industry sources on the 11th, the Financial Supervisory Service stated it is reviewing loans processed in the investment business sector to check daily whether they are collateralized housing products. This is a strengthening of the previous method, which only reviewed loan balances. The Financial Supervisory Service is understood to have requested the top 10 lending companies to assess their loan status.
On the 27th of last month, the government announced measures to regulate real estate loans. The key point is that the maximum limit for housing purchase mortgage loans in the metropolitan area and regulated regions cannot exceed 600 million won. Furthermore, the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) for multiple homeowners (including those with two homes) in these areas is restricted to 0%, effectively banning mortgage loans for housing purchase purposes.
Through this, financial authorities aim to reduce the supply of household loans from banks by 50% in the second half of this year compared to existing levels. The Financial Supervisory Service plans to soon request submission of loan targets by sector, including savings banks, mutual finance, credit card companies, and insurance companies.
Lending businesses and investment businesses were not originally included as direct targets of the regulation. This is due to the lower likelihood of significant increases in demand compared to first-tier financial institutions. However, concerns about a balloon effect caused by some consumers facing lending obstacles have led financial authorities to take direct action.
The investment business and lending sectors have also begun preparing measures. Recently, representatives from investment companies accepted the Financial Supervisory Service's request to refrain from advertising that promotes investment businesses as being exempt from loan regulations. The Lending Association advised its members the previous day not to engage in excessive advertising related to mortgage loans.
An industry insider noted, "Some investment and lending companies are likely to attempt to absorb the loan demand caused by the June 27 regulation, so it seems that financial authorities are trying to preemptively block this." They added, "However, since the scale of transactions is not large compared to other sectors, the actual impact on the market is likely to be limited."