S.Korean banks' lending rate hits 10-year high in October-Xinhua

S.Korean banks' lending rate hits 10-year high in October

Source: Xinhua| 2022-11-29 14:12:00|Editor: huaxia

SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' lending rate hit the highest in over 10 years in October amid rapid policy rate hikes, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The weighted average rate for new bank loans to households was an annualized 5.34 percent in October, up 0.19 percentage points from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the highest since June 2012 on the back of rapid interest rate hikes by the central bank.

The BOK began to tighten its monetary policy stance in August last year, lifting its key rate from a record low of 0.50 percent to 3.25 percent.

The rate for mortgage loans to households added 0.03 percentage points over the month to 4.82 percent in October, and the credit loan rate jumped 0.60 percentage points to 7.22 percent.

The percentage of bank fixed-rate loans to households stood at 29.0 percent in October, up 5.0 percentage points from the prior month.

The weighted average rate for banks' new corporate loans advanced 0.61 percentage points from a month earlier to an annualized 5.27 percent in October. It was the highest in over 10 years since September 2012.

The lending rate for big companies spiked 0.70 percentage points to 5.08 percent last month, and the rate for small firms increased 0.62 percentage points to 5.49 percent.

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