South Korea’s 17 banks changed household-lending rules a combined 73 times this year as regulators enforced institution-level caps on total household-loan growth, creating uncertainty for borrowers and a recurring lending cliff when quotas are exhausted. The tally covers KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup, along with regional and internet-only banks, and may understate changes made through operational criteria that were not separately announced. Most measures tightened borrowing by lowering unsecured-loan and overdraft limits, restricting mortgage credit insurance and guarantees, blocking broker or online applications, and suspending some mortgage products. Banks also repeatedly reopened lending when quota capacity emerged, then restricted it again. This has particularly affected homebuyers, since a mortgage available when a purchase contract is signed may be unavailable when the balance is due months later. Regulators introduced the framework in 2021 after a surge in household debt, initially targeting annual bank loan growth of about 5% to 6%. The current year’s target was initially around 1.5% and was later adjusted to about 3%, although an earlier account cited a different 1.5% target and a reduction from 1.7% the previous year. Banks say unpredictable overdraft drawdowns and concentrated collective-loan disbursements make quota management difficult. Analysts and bank officials have called for greater predictability and more lender discretion to assess income, credit standing, collateral and repayment capacity.