Banks’ lending rate slips in April

Banks' loan rate slightly fell in April, as the central bank has frozen its key rate for more than a year amid still-high inflation, data showed Friday. The average lending rate of banks applied to new loans last month came to 4.77 percent, down from the previous month's 4.85 percent, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Early this month, the central bank kept its key rate frozen at 3.5 percent for the 11th straight time. Banks' lending rate on household loans came to 4.48 percent on average in April, down 0.02 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the BOK. Household loans extended by banks rebounded in April, led by a rise in mortgage loan growth. Their lending rate for corporate loans also slid 0.08 percentage point to 4.88 percent over the cited period, it added. The rate banks pay for deposits reached 3.53 percent in March, down 0.05 percentage point from the previous month. The spread on banks' lending and deposit rates widened to 1.24 percentage points last month fro m 1.27 percentage points in March, according to the data. Source: Yonhap News Agency