South Korea is becoming a high-profile weak link in the $63 trillion shadow banking world. Real estate risk exposures at home and abroad have rift after interest rates rose, prompting financial companies, including Pryce and Nomura Holdings, to say the pressure on shadow loans to the industry is worrisome. The loan delinquency rate of a key South Korean banking group almost doubled to 6.55% last year; Citigroup economists estimate that 111 trillion won ($80 billion) of project financing debt is “in trouble.” According to data from the Korea Capital Market Research Institute, South Korea's shadow banking financing for the real estate industry increased to a record 926 trillion won last year, which is more than four times that of ten years ago.