The average interest rate charged on new bank loans came to 2.87 percent in August, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the BOK.

The BOK cut the key interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent in May last year after delivering an emergency rate cut of half a percentage point in March to cushion the impact of the new coronavirus outbreak.

In August, the BOK lifted the base rate by 0.25 percentage point to 0.75 percent, ending 15 months of record low interest rates.

The average rate for bank deposits, meanwhile, came to 1.03 percent in August, up 0.06 percentage point from a month earlier, the BOK said.

South Korean lenders' loan-deposit spread, a gauge of banks' profitability from lending, stood at 2.12 percent in August. (Yonhap)