South Korean banks’ lending rate marked the first fall in three months on the continued policy rate freeze, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The weighted average rate for fresh bank loans was an annualized 5.11 percent in July, down 0.06 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The BOK has left its policy rate unchanged at 3.50 percent since January, after increasing it by 3.0 percentage points for the past one and a half years.
Rate for banks’ new corporate loans decreased 0.07 percentage point over the month to 5.25 percent in July.
The lending rate for big companies dipped 0.08 percentage point to 5.17 percent, and the rate for small companies slipped 0.05 percentage point to 5.32 percent.
Rate for new bank loans to households retreated 0.01 percentage point to 4.80 percent last month.
Mortgage loan rate for households added 0.02 percentage point to 4.28 percent, but guaranteed loan rate slumped 0.14 percentage point to 4.91 percent.
The weighted average rate for new bank deposits shed 0.01 percentage point from a month earlier to an annualized 3.68 percent in July.
