The loan delinquency ratio among South Korean banks stayed relatively low amid the record-low policy rate, financial watchdog data showed Thursday.
The rate of bank loans overdue at least a month stood at 0.54 percent of the total as of end-April, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). It was up 0.03 percentage points from a month earlier, but it hovered at a relatively low level due to the record-low borrowing costs.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) lowered its policy rate from 3.25 percent in July 2012 to an all-time low of 1.25 percent in June last year.
Pressures mounted on the BOK to raise rates as the U.S. Federal Reserve was forecast to hike rates as early as this month.
The Fed's policy rate was already lifted to a range of 0.75-1.00 percent. One more rate hike by the Fed could trigger an abrupt foreign capital exodus from the South Korean financial market.
The bad loan ratio for household debts came to 0.28 percent at the end of April, up 0.02 percentage points from a month earlier. The figure for corporate loans by banks rose 0.05 percentage points to 0.76 percent.
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