Seoul - Yonhap
South Korea\'s financial watchdog has urged local banks to induce individual borrowers to repay their debts instead of putting the lid on fresh loans, in an effort to help curb household debt, industry sources said Sunday. The move came after major lenders Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank and Nonghyup said Thursday they will halt new household lending, sparking concern that they could force households to resort to higher-interest loans from non-banking financial institutions, further aggravating the household debt problem.