SEOUL, The issuance of asset-backed securities (ABSs) in South Korea jumped more than 50 percent from a year earlier in 2023, led by a sharp increase in securities issued by the state-run housing finance company, data showed Tuesday.

The amount of ABSs issued here last year came in at 66.1 trillion won (US$49.5 billion), up 22.1 trillion won, or 50.1 percent, from 2022, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

ABS refers to securities based on such assets as mortgages, auto loans, credit card receivables and student loans.

Mortgage-backed securities issued by the Korea Housing Finance Corp. more than doubled to 37 trillion won in 2023 from 17.2 trillion won the previous year, according to the FSS.

ABS issuance by financial firms gained 2.2 trillion won to 20.9 trillion won over the cited period, while ABS issuance by non-financial companies slipped to 8.1 trillion won from 8.2 trillion won tallied in 2022.

As of end-December, outstanding ABSs had come to 253.4 trillion won, up
10 percent from a year earlier.

In the October-December period, ABS issuance came to 18.5 trillion won, up from 17.6 trillion won the previous quarter and 8 trillion won issued during the same period in 2022.

Source: Yonhap News Agency