SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's issuance of registered asset-backed securities (ABS) fell in single digits in the third quarter amid a drop in real estate project financing (PF) assets, financial watchdog data showed Thursday.
The ABS issuance decreased 5.7 percent from a year earlier to 12.51 trillion won (about 9.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the July-September quarter, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
Despite the quarterly contraction, cumulative ABS sales for the first nine months of 2026 grew 14 percent to 39.1 trillion won compared to the same period last year.
Loan-backed ABS issuance retreated 8.8 percent to 7.54 trillion won as sales of real estate PF-backed ABS plummeted 98.3 percent to just 20 billion won amid the sluggish property market.
Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) sales expanded 13 percent to 5.77 trillion won, but issuance of nonperforming loan-backed ABS declined 11.4 percent to 1.66 trillion won.
Receivable-backed ASB issuance gained 9.9 percent year on year to 4.11 trillion won in the third quarter.
It was bolstered by credit card receivables, which surged 142.2 percent to 3.05 trillion won, offsetting a 92.3 percent drop in installment finance receivables.
By issuer, public enterprises recorded a 13 percent growth in their ABS sales in the third quarter, driven by the Korea Housing Finance Corp., which expanded its MBS issuance.
Financial companies remained relatively flat at 5.76 trillion won, but industrial companies saw their ABS sales plunge 58.7 percent to 0.98 trillion won amid the real estate PF downturn.
At the end of September, the outstanding ABS totaled 246.6 trillion won, up 3.1 trillion won from a year earlier. ■