S.Korean banks’ lending rate falls in May
SEOUL: JUNE 29 – South Korean banks’ lending rate fell last month amid the protracted record-low policy rate, central bank data showed Tuesday.
The weighted average rate of fresh bank loans to households came in at an annualized rate of 2.89 percent in May, down 0.02 percentage points from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The mortgage loan rate declined 0.04 percentage points to 2.69 percent in the month, but the credit loan rate rose 0.04 percentage points to 3.69 percent.
It came amid the record-low policy rate that has been left unchanged at 0.50 percent since May last year.
The weighted average rate for new bank loans to companies was an annualized rate of 2.67 percent in May, down 0.01 percentage point from the prior month.
The lending rate for big corporations fell 0.02 percentage points to 2.42 percent, but the rate for small firms added 0.01 percentage points to 2.83 percent.
