{
  "id": 1854189,
  "title": "Household credit rises at fastest pace in nearly 5 yrs to all-time high in Q2",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/household-credit-rises-at-fastest-pace-in-nearly-5-yrs-to-all-time",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-19T03:00:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yonhap News",
    "slug": "yonhap-news",
    "url": "https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260819003900320"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Korea's household credit surged to an all-time high in the second quarter, expanding at the fastest pace in nearly five years, as reported by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Wednesday. The nation's total household credit reached 2,019.8 trillion won (US$1.43 trillion) by the end of June, marking a 25.9 trillion won increase from the previous quarter. This represents the most significant on-quarter rise since the third quarter of 2021, when the credit balance surged by 34.8 trillion won.\n\nHousehold credit encompasses credit purchases and loans granted to households by financial institutions. The rapid growth was driven by a surge in housing transactions following the expiry of an exemption on capital gains tax, according to Kim Sung-jun, the head of the monetary and financial statistics team at the BOK. Non-mortgage loans also experienced a rise, as individuals sought to invest in the flourishing stock market.\n\nAs of June, household loans totaled 1,891.3 trillion won, a 24.9 trillion won increase from three months prior, representing the largest on-quarter increase since the third quarter of 2021. Mortgage lending rose by 12.2 trillion won to 1,190.8 trillion won, while non-mortgage loans surged 12.8 trillion won to 700.5 trillion won. Credit purchases climbed by 900 billion won on-quarter to 128.5 trillion won, marking a slowdown from the 1.4 trillion won increase observed in the first quarter.",
  "summary": "SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's household credit rose at the fastest pa...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}