[THE INVESTOR] Bank lending rates on new household loans rose to a six-month high in September and interest paid by banks on new deposits also climbed, according to central bank data on Oct. 27.

The average interest rate on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.03 percent last month, up 0.08 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.

The BOK data came a week before the government is set to announce a set of measures to cool the country‘s housing market that has shown signs of overheating in recent months.

South Korea’s household borrowings reached a record high of 1,257.3 trillion won (US$1.15 trillion) as of end-June.

The government has already vowed to control the supply of new apartments in a bid to curb demand for mortgages, the main culprit behind soaring household debt.

The average interest rate on new mortgages came to 2.80 percent in September, up 0.10 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the BOK.

The average interest rate on all new loans stood at 3.27 percent, up 0.04 percentage point from a month earlier. The rate on new corporate loans came to 3.37 percent, down 0.01 percentage point from the previous month.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)