SEOUL, July 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks will tighten lending standard in the third quarter as the government took measures to control massive household debts, a central bank survey showed Tuesday.
The lending attitude index declined to minus 17 for the July-September quarter from minus 13 in the prior quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s poll of 203 banks and other financial institutions conducted in June.
The index below zero indicates that lenders willing to tighten loan standard outnumber those willing to ease it.
The new government under President Lee Jae-myung, who took office on June 4, announced measures in late June to curb massive household debts, especially mortgage loan, aimed to keep down the soaring housing prices in the capital Seoul.
The index for mortgage loan to households tumbled from minus 11 in the second quarter to minus 31 in the third quarter, while the reading for other loans to households, such as credit loan, dropped from minus 11 to minus 22.
The index for big companies advanced from minus 6 to 6 in the cited period, and the index for small firms increased from minus 14 to minus 6.
The BOK lowered its key rate by a quarter percentage point in February and May each to 2.50 percent, after slashing it by the same percentage point in October and November last year.
The credit risk index for households decreased from 25 in the second quarter to 14 in the third quarter, while those for big and small companies retreated by 3 points and 6 points each to 8 and 19 in the cited quarter. ■