ABS issuance down 5.6% in 3rd quarter

The issuance of asset-backed securities in South Korea slipped 5.6 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, led mostly by state-run firms, the financial regulator said Thursday.

ABS sales by local financial firms and mortgage agencies totaled 6.53 trillion won ($5.77 billion) in the July-September period, compared with 6.91 trillion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

The decline came as public firm Korea Housing Finance Corp. scaled back issuances of mortgage-backed securities and other ABSs, the FSS said.

Meanwhile, ABS issuances by financial firms, including banks and credit card companies, reached 4 trillion won, nearly doubling from 2.06 trillion won a year earlier.

Financial companies and mortgage lenders use cash flows from mortgages, loan obligations and credit card debts as underlying assets to issue ABS. 

(Yonhap News)