SKorean banks' lending rates rebound in June

SEOUL: South Korean banks' lending rates rebounded in June amid growing expectations for interest rate hikes, central bank data showed on Tuesday.

The weighted average rate for new bank loans gained 0.12 percentage points from a month earlier to an annualised rate of 4.31% in June, after falling 0.01 percentage point in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Amid rising expectations for policy rate hikes, the BOK raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% earlier this month, turning towards monetary tightening in about three and a half years since January 2023.

The rate for banks' new corporate loans advanced 0.14 percentage points to 4.27% in June.

The lending rate for large companies picked up 0.07 percentage point to 4.17%, and the rate for small and medium firms jumped 0.23 percentage point to 4.38%.

The rate for fresh bank loans to households climbed 0.04 percentage point over the month to 4.50% in June.

Mortgage loan rates for households swelled 0.04 percentage point to 4.36%, and credit loan rates soared 0.23 percentage point to 5.72%.

The weighted average rate for new bank deposits was up 0.15 percentage point over the month to an annualised 3.08% in June.

By RSS/Xinhua