Loan Limits for Stock Loans in P2P Financing Set at 1 Billion Won per Borrower Amid Surge in Leveraged Investments

Financial Authorities to Implement Risk Management Supervision Starting July 16

The financial authorities have initiated risk management measures to curb the increase in stock-secured loans (stock loans) provided by online investment-linked finance businesses (also known as online P2P financing or P2P lending).

The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service announced on July 15 that, starting from July 16, they will implement administrative guidance on "risk management measures for stock loans in the P2P financing sector."

This move is in response to concerns over excessive leveraged investing—so-called "bit-too" (i.e., investing with borrowed money)—as the size of stock loans handled by the P2P finance industry has rapidly increased along with the recent stock market uptrend.

The financial authorities have established management standards to ensure that the monthly volume of new stock loans issued by P2P lenders does not exceed 30% of the previous month's volume of new connected loans (excluding stock loans). However, this standard will not apply to companies that maintain their stock loan balance at the end of each month from July 2026 onward at or below the June-end level.

Additionally, the financial authorities will limit the maximum stock loan available to each individual borrower to 1 billion won.

According to the financial authorities, as of the end of June 2026, the outstanding balance of stock loans in the P2P financing sector was tallied at 898.3 billion won. This reflects an increase of 374.5 billion won (71.5%) compared to the end of last year.

An official from the financial authorities stated, "We will continuously monitor the compliance status of each P2P lender and, if necessary, guide the strengthening of risk management related to stock loans through meetings with management."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.