KB Kookmin Bank raises household loan rates by up to 0.53 points

KB Kookmin Bank will raise rates on major household lending products by 0.06 to 0.53 percentage points from July 31, with the sharpest increases aimed at non-face-to-face mortgage and jeonse loans that had been priced below branch-based offerings. The bank said the move is intended to curb persistent household debt growth and reduce concentration in mobile and online loan channels. The repricing comes as household borrowing at South Korea’s five major banks rose by 3.83 trillion won in July to 778.79 trillion won as of July 30, only slightly below June’s 4.15 trillion won increase. Housing-related loans rose by 2.28 trillion won to 617.43 trillion won as Seoul home prices kept climbing, while credit loans increased by 1.38 trillion won amid sharp swings in the Kospi that were seen boosting stock-related borrowing and margin needs. At KB Kookmin, the biggest adjustment is a 0.53 percentage point increase for the purchase-fund rate on the non-face-to-face KB Star Apartment Mortgage Loan based on the six-month COFIX new-balance benchmark, lifting the top end of the current 4.27% to 5.67% range to as high as 6.20%. By contrast, the branch-based KB Mortgage Loan (Variable) tied to the six-month COFIX new-disbursement benchmark will rise by 0.06 percentage point. Jeonse loan increases are also steeper online than in branches across HF, HUG and SGI-guaranteed products, while major salaried-worker credit loans will rise by 0.10 to 0.50 percentage points. The move follows KB Kookmin’s July 22 deposit and savings rate increases of up to 0.30 percentage points after the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate to 2.75% from 2.50% on July 16. Other lenders have also lifted deposit rates to secure funding, and market participants cited by Seoul Economic Daily and other financial-sector sources said similar loan repricing could spread to peers such as Shinhan, Hana and Woori if household loan growth remains strong.