Bank rates on fresh loans up for 3rd month in November

A notice of mortgage loan rates at a local bank in Seoul, Dec. 7 / Yonhap

The average lending rate of major banks in Korea increased for the third consecutive month in November, data showed Monday.

COFIX, or the Cost of Funds Index, a benchmark lending rate for mortgage loans, came to 2.81 percent last month, up 0.24 percentage point from the previous month, according to the data from the Korea Federation of Banks.

COFIX is calculated based on the funding costs of eight domestic banks in Korea. They include Nonghyup Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and Citibank Korea.

Late last month, the Bank of Korea (BOK) kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5 percent to safeguard financial stability amid a weakened local currency and an unstable housing market.

It marked the fourth straight on-hold decision, even as the central bank remains in an easing cycle.

Since October last year, the BOK has cut the key rate by a cumulative 100 basis points from 3.5 percent in an apparent move to support economic growth.