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Alsharq Tribune-Al Otaify
South Korea's asset-backed securities (ABS) issuance rose in double digits in the first half due to strong demand for mortgage-backed securities (MBS), financial watchdog data showed Wednesday.
The ABS issuance amounted to 26.6 trillion won (18.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-June period, up 26.5 percent compared to the same period of 2025, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
The MBS, sold by the state-owned Korea Housing Finance Corp. to securitize mortgage loans, surged 118.1 percent to 11.7 trillion won (8.0 billion dollars) in the first half.
The issuance of the loan-based ABS, including mortgage loans, non-performing loans and real estate project financing, soared 33.7 percent, while the ABS backed by accounts receivables, such as credit card receivables and installment sale receivables, jumped 37.7 percent in the first six months.
The ABS sale by financial companies advanced 14.0 percent to 10.6 trillion won (7.2 billion dollars) on an expanded issuance based on credit card receivables.
The issuance by non-financial companies plunged 36.8 percent to 4.0 trillion won (2.7 billion dollars) owing to lower demand for the securities backed by real estate project financing.
Outstanding ABS issuance totaled 246.5 trillion won (168.5 billion dollars) at the end of June, up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.
