Bank lending rates on new home-backed loans in South Korea edged down in September from a month earlier amid a record-low policy rate, central bank data showed Thursday.

The average rate for fresh mortgages extended to households came in at 2.92 percent last month, down 0.02 percentage point from August, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea.

The numbers for household loans including mortgages dipped 0.02 percentage point on-month to 3.11 percent, while that for corporate lending edged down 0.01 percentage point to 3.56 percent.

The average lending rate for entire bank loans extended to households, businesses and organizations fell 0.01 percentage point on-month to 3.43 percent in September.

The average lending rate on new loans has been on a downturn since the central bank trimmed its policy rate through four rate cuts since August 2014. The rate currently sits at a record low of 1.5 percent.

The data showed that the average rate paid by banks for new deposits remained flat at 1.55 percent last month, with the gap between deposit and lending rates standing at 1.88 percentage points. (Yonhap)