Woori Bank cuts unsecured loan limit to 100 million won, trims dormant credit line caps

Woori Bank is tightening its standards for non-face-to-face unsecured lending as part of efforts to manage the overall volume of household loans.

Starting Tuesday, the bank will cap the daily number of new loan applications submitted through its mobile banking app, WON Banking. New applications will be restricted depending on the volume of incoming requests.

From Friday, the bank will also limit personal unsecured loans to a maximum of 100 million won ($72,600) per borrower. Credit line loans — known as "minus accounts" — will be capped at 50 million won.

In addition, sometime in July, Woori Bank plans to reduce credit line limits when borrowers renew or renegotiate existing loans, based on their utilization rate. Borrowers using less than 10 percent of their limit will see it cut by 10 percent, while those using less than 5 percent will face a 20 percent reduction.

However, borrowers whose existing maximum limit is already below 50 million won will keep their current limit, and loans of 50 million won or less will be exempt from the measure. The bank will also maintain its existing policy of keeping loan limits within 100 percent of a borrower's annual income. The exact implementation date will be confirmed and announced later.