SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' loan delinquency ratio fell last year amid the record-low borrowing cost, financial watchdog data showed Tuesday.
The ratio of bank loans overdue at least one month stood at 0.36 percent of the total as of the end of December, down 0.04 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
It came amid the record-low policy rate. The country's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 1.25 percent in October, after lowering it from 1.75 percent to 1.50 percent in July.
Local banks actively resolved delinquent loans ahead of the year-end, contributing to the lower bad debt ratio.
The delinquency ratio for bank loans to companies retreated 0.08 percentage points from a year earlier to 0.45 percent as of end-December.
The ratio for bank loans to households was unchanged at 0.26 percent in the cited period. The figure for mortgage loan added 0.01 percentage point to 0.20 percent, but the reading for credit loan declined 0.02 percentage points to 0.41 percent.
