Indebted debts… Credit loan interest rate soared 0.49%P

Amid the soaring asset market, demand for “debt investment” (investment in debt) increased, and the interest rate on credit loans surged by financial authorities.

According to the data released by the Bank of Korea on the 29th, the weighted average interest rate of financial institutions in December 2020, the deposit bank loan interest rate (based on the amount of new treatment) as of December of last year was 2.74%, up 0.03% from the previous month.

Among the interest rates on loans, the most notable is general credit loans. The credit loan interest rate was calculated to be 3.50%, a whopping 0.49 percentage points from the previous month. The BOK analyzed that “general credit interest rates have risen significantly due to efforts to manage the total amount of household credit loans such as reducing preferential interest rates.”

The interest rate on household loans rose by 0.07 percentage points from 2.72% to 2.79% due to the surge in credit interest rates. The mortgage loan rate also rose by 0.03 percentage points.

Companies are no exception. The average interest rate on loans rose by 0.03% to 2.74%, with the interest rate on corporate loans rising by 0.01%.

An official in the financial industry said, “In the bond market recently, the interest rate for financing by banks has increased, and the interest rate for loans has also risen.” In line with the government’s policy of tightening loans, commercial banks raised the additional interest rate and lowered the preferential interest rate given to customers. As the interest rate of loans in the financial sector rises, the burden of actual consumers seeking to obtain a loan is inevitably increased.

On the other hand, the deposit rate (0.90%) did not change. The deposit rate remains the same, but the loan rate has risen significantly, and the gap between the loan rate and the savings-type receiving rate is 1.84%, a 0.03% increase from the previous month.

Non-bank deposit rates remained at the same level as last month, except for mutual savings banks (0.08 percentage points). Mutual savings bank (-0.11 percentage points) and mutual finance (-0.04 percentage points) declined in loan interest rates, but credit unions (0.03 percentage points) and Saemaul Geumgo (0.14 percentage points) rose.

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