Welcome the new year
Although total loan volume management in the banking sector has been eased,
“”Home loan interest rates”” are rising rapidly
. At the end of last year, the average interest rate on home mortgage loans from the five major commercial banks soared to the mid-4% range.
At the beginning of the year (2026), interest rates are reaching up to 6%.
Monday, January 5th, financial sector
According to this day,
Hybrid (fixed and variable) interest rates for home loans from five major commercial banks, including KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup Bank
is 3.94%~
6.24% section
It appeared.
In the ‘2026 Monetary and Credit Policy Operation Direction Report’, the Bank of Korea expressed a cautious stance, saying, ‘We will decide whether and when to further reduce the (base interest rate) by comprehensively considering risks in terms of financial stability.’ Governor Lee Chang-yong also added strength to the cautious stance, saying in his New Year’s address, “We will operate monetary policy more precisely.”
However, the industry believes that it will be difficult to cut the base interest rate this year, considering the ‘high exchange rate’ that remains in the mid-1,400 won range. The Export-Import Bank of Korea’s Overseas Economic Research Institute predicted in its ‘2026 Economic and Industrial Outlook’ report that the possibility of lowering the base interest rate is limited due to the high exchange rate.
If the won’s weakness continues,
Voices call for stabilizing the exchange rate through “”raising the base interest rate””
There are quite a few.
Na Min-wook, a researcher at DB Securities, said, “Recently, due to the rise in COFIX and market interest rates, the cap on mortgage interest rates has exceeded 6%.
Loan limits are also expected to decrease.
He diagnosed, “It is inevitable that household loan growth will slow down this year compared to last year due to the loan regulations implemented last June along with the decrease in housing occupancy.”