SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' lending rate for households hit the highest in nearly 10 years last month due to policy rate hikes, central bank data showed Friday.

The weighted average rate for new bank loans to households stood at an annualized rate of 4.76 percent in August, up 0.23 percentage points from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the highest in almost 10 years since January 2013 amid the higher policy rates.

The BOK began its rate hikes in August last year, raising the rate in seven steps from 0.50 percent to 2.50 percent.

Expectations ran high for the central bank to lift the key rate further by 50 basis points in October.

The rate for bank mortgage loans to households gained 0.19 percentage points over the month to 4.35 percent in August, while the credit loans rate advanced 0.33 percentage points to 6.24 percent.

The weighted average rate for banks' corporate loans increased 0.34 percentage points to 4.46 percent last month, marking the highest in over eight years since July 2014.

The rate for bank loans to big corporations went up 0.39 percentage points to 4.23 percent, while the lending rate for small firms rose 0.29 percentage points to 4.65 percent. Enditem

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