Starting today (July 10), KB Kookmin Bank cuts its maximum home-purchase mortgage in half, from ₩600 million to ₩300 million. The cap now applies not only to the capital region and regulated zones but even to non-regulated areas that previously had no ceiling — making it tougher than the financial regulator’s own rules. Balance loans (jangeum) and refinancing demand are likely to feel it first, and the impact could spread to ordinary buyers eyeing mid- to low-priced apartments in the capital region.

TL;DR

  • From July 10, KB Kookmin Bank cuts its maximum home-purchase mortgage from ₩600M to ₩300M (until further notice)
  • The ₩300M cap applies across the capital region, regulated zones, and even previously uncapped non-regulated areas — stricter than government rules
  • The backdrop: end-June bank household loans hit ₩1,189.4 trillion, up ₩7.6 trillion from the prior month — the largest monthly jump in 1 year and 10 months

🏦 What’s Changing — Why Is KB’s Mortgage Cap Cut in Half?

KB Kookmin Bank has halved the maximum limit on home-purchase loans from ₩600 million to ₩300 million. It takes effect on July 10 and stays in place until further notice.

  • Scope: A ₩300 million cap now applies not only in the capital region and regulated zones but also in non-regulated areas that previously had no maximum. Applying the same ₩300M ceiling regardless of location is the defining feature of this move.
  • Severity: Under the regulator’s current rules, homes priced at ₩1.5 billion or less can borrow up to ₩600 million; ₩1.5–2.5 billion up to ₩400 million; and above ₩2.5 billion up to ₩200 million. KB’s flat ₩300 million cap is both stricter and broader in scope than these rules.
  • Exceptions: Group loans (interim, relocation, and balance loans), fund loans, Bogeumjari loans, and purchase/auction loans for jeonse-fraud victims are exempt from the ₩300 million cap.

📈 Why Now — Not an Overshoot, but ‘Preemptive Speed Control’

This is less about having already exceeded a quota and more about tightening ahead of demand expected to rise. KB says its household-loan total is not currently over target.

The backdrop is a rapid rise in capital-region apartment transactions, which is expected to drive a surge in balance-loan demand ahead. When deals cluster, loans pile up all at once at the balance-payment stage two to three months later — so the bank is lowering the cap in advance to pace the flow.

The numbers show the strain. As of the end of June, banks’ household loan balance stood at ₩1,189.4 trillion, up ₩7.6 trillion from the previous month — the largest monthly increase in 1 year and 10 months, since August 2024 (+₩9.2 trillion).

🔀 Will It Spread to Other Banks? — Signs of Contagion and ‘Balloon Effect’ Concerns

The key question is whether KB’s move jumps to other commercial banks. If borrowers shift to Shinhan, Hana, Woori, or Nonghyup, those banks’ household loans could grow faster too — raising the prospect of sector-wide tightening.

Other channels are already narrowing. Hana Bank has restricted new sign-ups for MCI/MCG (mortgage guarantees), and Shinhan Bank has suspended some new household-loan intake through loan brokers as part of volume management. Insurers, too, are halting mortgage lending one after another, so lending doors across the financial sector are closing at once.

🏠 Impact on Buyers — Balance Loans and Refinancing First

The first to be hit are balance loans and “switch” (refinancing) demand. Buyers who have already signed purchase contracts or were weighing a purchase may see variables enter their funding plans.

In particular, many buyers of mid- to low-priced capital-region apartments need more than ₩300 million in loans — so this reaches not only high-end buyers but ordinary demand as well. That said, since this is one bank’s own adjustment, some see the shock as limited if buyers use other banks or qualify for group-loan or policy-loan exceptions.

Meanwhile, the government is preparing a property tax reform package targeted for late July. If lending rules and tax changes overlap, the flow of money in the second-half capital-region housing market could shift once more.

✍️ The Takeaway — Tighten via Loans First, Tax Follows

KB Kookmin Bank’s cap cut is a case of a bank narrowing its own lending doors ahead of government rules — a signal for reading second-half household-debt and housing trends.

Three points to watch. First, how quickly the tightening spreads to other commercial banks and the insurance sector. Second, whether an actual bottleneck emerges in buyers’ financing when balance-loan demand clusters. Third, which way demand moves once the reform meshes with the property tax package due in late July. Ultimately, the two axes of lending and taxation are likely to set the temperature of the second-half capital-region market.

※ This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.

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