Fixed vs floating-rate loans at Korean banks
As of 2026-08, Korean deposit banks' mortgage book runs 61.7% fixed-rate on an outstanding-balance basis — but only 35.3% of mortgages newly extended that month were fixed-rate. The back book and the new flow disagree.
Read this before the table: two different rulers
Outstanding basis (잔액 기준) weighs every loan a bank is currently carrying, including ones written years ago. Newly-extended basis (신규취급액 기준) only counts loans originated in the reference month. Neither is "more correct" — they answer different questions. This page does not claim the gap means rates are about to move in either direction.
Fixed-rate share, by borrower type — both measures
| Borrower type | Outstanding, fixed | Outstanding, floating | New loans, fixed | New loans, floating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate loans | 27.8% | 72.2% | 31.5% | 68.5% |
| Household loans | 42.7% | 57.3% | 23.5% | 76.5% |
| Mortgage loans | 61.7% | 38.3% | 35.3% | 64.7% |
Each row's "fixed" and "floating" figures do not always sum to 100% — a small "other-linked" residual is dropped from this summary table (see the full breakdown below).
Floating-rate loans, split by what they are linked to
"Floating-rate" is not one thing. The Bank of Korea splits it into market-rate-linked (tied to CD rates or bank bonds) and deposit-rate-linked (COFIX-style, tied to banks' own cost of funds).
| Borrower type | Basis | Market-rate-linked | Deposit-rate-linked | Other-linked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate loans | Outstanding | 67.6% | 1.6% | 3% |
| Corporate loans | New loans | 66% | 0.5% | 2% |
| Household loans | Outstanding | 24.6% | 32.3% | 0.4% |
| Household loans | New loans | 23.5% | 52.5% | 0.5% |
| Mortgage loans | Outstanding | 11.7% | 26.4% | 0.2% |
| Mortgage loans | New loans | 17.7% | 46.9% | 0.1% |
What this page does not say
- No forward-looking signal — this is a composition snapshot for 2026-08, not a forecast.
- No cross-country comparison yet — Korea only.
- No history yet — only the latest reference month is shown; a time series is a possible follow-up.
- Covers deposit banks only, not savings banks, insurers or other non-bank lenders.
This is not investment or borrowing advice. It describes how banks' existing books and new lending are split between fixed and floating rates — it does not say which is better for any individual borrower.
Source
Bank of Korea, 통화금융통계 (Monetary and Financial Statistics), via KOSIS — outstanding basis (DT_121Y011) and newly-extended basis (DT_121Y010). Reference month 2026-08.
Related
Korea's construction vs services output, The largest companies in Korea, KOSPI index weights. See what else is in the catalogue.