Banks' rates for fresh loans rise in October

Notice attached to the wall of a commercial bank in Seoul informs borrowers of interest rates for loans, Oct. 8. Yonhap

The average lending rate for major banks in Korea for mortgage loans increased from a month earlier in October, data showed Wednesday.

COFIX, or the Cost of Funds Index, a benchmark lending rate for mortgage loans, came to 3.97 percent last month, up 0.15 percentage point from a month earlier, according to data from the Korea Federation of Banks.

The COFIX rate for outstanding loans gained 0.02 percentage point to 3.90 percent over the cited period.

COFIX is calculated based on costs of funding information provided by eight domestic banks in Korea. They are Nonghyup Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Korea, Hana Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Kookmin Bank and Citibank Korea. (Yonhap)