SEOUL, April 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks planned to ease lending standard in the second quarter due to an expected increase in demand for mortgage loan, central bank data showed Friday.
The lending attitude index stood at minus 1 for the April-June quarter, higher than minus 3 in the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK) poll of 204 banks and other financial institutions conducted from March 7 to 19.
The lending attitude index for mortgage loan to households went up to 8 in the second quarter from 3 in the prior quarter, while the index for other loans to households gained from minus 6 to minus 3.
The index above zero indicates that lenders willing to ease loan standard outnumber those willing to tighten it.
The credit risk index for households jumped from 33 in the first quarter to 39 in the second quarter, while the index for big corporations added from 3 to 8 in the same period.
The index for small firms stood unchanged at 33 in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter.
The BOK had left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50 percent since January 2023, after raising it by 3.0 percentage points for the past one and a half years.
The lending demand index decreased to 12 in the second quarter from 24 in the previous quarter on the still high borrowing costs. ■
