Banks' lending rates down in Nov.

SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- Lending rates on fresh loans extended by banks in South Korea fell slightly in November from a month earlier, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The average interest rate on new loans extended by banks in November came to 3.18 percent, compared with 3.20 percent in October, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The rate on all outstanding loans averaged 3.42 percent last month, down 0.03 percentage point from October.

The lending rate on fresh household loans inched down 0.05 percentage point to 2.96 percent in November, but the average rate on fresh corporate loans rose 0.01 percentage point to 3.29 percent.

Both household and corporate loans have been rising at a slower pace in recent months, with overall household borrowing climbing 3.9 percent from a year earlier to 1,572 trillion won (US$1.33 trillion) as of end-September, the slowest on-year growth since the second quarter of 2004.

Meanwhile, the interest rate paid by banks on fresh deposits rose 0.07 percentage point to 1.62 percent in November, narrowing the gap between the rates charged and paid by banks to 1.56 percent in November from 1.65 percent in October.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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