BoK: Non-bank financial firms face stress from property market

The sluggish real estate market poses increased risk for some non-bank financial firms as their exposure to property financing has risen sharply in recent years, the BoK report said. — Reuters

SEOUL: South Korea’s financial firms are facing little contagion risk from troubles at US and Swiss banks, but some non-bank firms may have to contend with increased stress from the sluggish property market, the country’s central bank says in a report.

South Korean banks have been strictly supervised and their exposure to bonds and stocks stands at 18% of total assets, compared with 57% at recently collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, it said.