HF's New Jeonse Loan Guarantee Service to Alleviate the Interest Rate Burden

of Low-income Jeonse Loan Borrowers

- Borrowers of high-interest jeonse loans made by non-banking financial institutions to be able to switch to low-interest bank loans

Low-income people who took out expensive jeonse loans from non-banking financial institutions will soon be able to switch to low-interest bank loans.

Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF, CEO Seo Jong-dae) announced on February 23 that it would launch on February 27 a new service named Jinggeomdari ('stepping-stone') Jeonse Loan Guarantee, through which customers with high-interest jeonse loans offered by non-banking financial institutions (e.g. savings banks, credit unions, and installment financing companies) can switch to guaranteed bank loans.

□ Earners of KRW 30 million or less per year can have up to KRW 75 million of their outstanding debt guaranteed

Those eligible for the Jinggeomdari service will be jeonse tenant couples with combined annual incomes of KRW 30 million or less who are non-delinquent borrowers of jeonse loans made by non-banking financial institutions as of February 26. The guarantee limit –conditional on the establishment of the right of pledge on the tenant's jeonse deposit – will be KRW 50 million for households making KRW 20 million or less a year, and KRW 75 million for those making over KRW 20 million but not more than KRW 30 million a year.

An HF official said, "By guaranteeing a combined total of up to KRW 500 billion in jeonse loans this year, we expect to be able to alleviate the interest rate burden of low-income families by approximately KRW 39 billion".