S. Korean experts term household debt as major systemic risk: poll

SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) — South Korean experts have termed household debt as the biggest systemic risk facing the local financial market, a central bank poll showed Thursday.
According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) survey, 26.9 percent of respondents said massive household debt and growing debt-servicing burden were the key risk factor to the South Korean financial system.
The result was based on a poll of 78 experts conducted between Oct. 29 and Nov. 8. The experts included executives of local financial institutions, researchers and college professors.
The BOK cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent in October as part of efforts to prop up the lackluster housing market and reduce debt-servicing burden.
The household debt was followed by policy changes after the U.S. presidential elections, which 20.5 percent selected as a major systemic risk.
Industrial policies in favor of their own countries, including the U.S. supply chain restructuring policy, were picked by 9 percent of respondents as the biggest systemic risk, trailed by higher insolvency among the self-employed and a delayed recovery in domestic demand. ■