[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Lee Eog-weon: "Will Review Raising Banks' Mortgage RWA; Will Watch Market Conditions"

He made the remarks at an Oct. 8 parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee
Authorities left open the possibility of raising it further to 25%

The Financial Services Commission plans to consider raising the risk-weighted assets (RWA) for banks' mortgage loans.

Lee Eog-weon, chair of the Financial Services Commission, answers lawmakers' questions during a parliamentary audit of the Financial Services Commission and other agencies at the National Assembly on Oct. 8, 2026. Photo by Yoon Dongju

On the afternoon of Oct. 8, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon said he would "review the matter while taking market conditions into account" in response to a question from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yu Dong-su about plans to raise the RWA for banks' mortgage loans. He made the remarks during a parliamentary audit of the Financial Services Commission and other agencies by the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee.

Authorities previously raised the RWA from 15% to 20%. They also left open the possibility of a further increase to 25%.

The common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio, a key measure of banks' capital soundness, is calculated by dividing common equity (the numerator) by RWA (the denominator). As RWA increases, the ratio falls, potentially making it a tool to reduce banks' loan supply.

Separately, when Democratic Party lawmaker Park Min-gyu said low-interest inclusive loan products offered by banks should be excluded from annual-income-based lending restrictions, Chairman Lee said, "We will strike a good balance between the need to manage household debt stably and the need to ensure that policy finance for ordinary people reaches those with genuine needs."

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