Risk and sentiment
KR Loan-Deposit Spread
New lending minus new deposit rates — Korean banks' interest margin and how the burden splits.
At a glance
KR Loan-Deposit Spread: latest value and prior change
As of 2026-06-30, KR Loan-Deposit Spread is 1.23 %p. It is 0.03 %p lower than 1.26 %p on 2026-05-31.
Across 47 available observations from 2022-08-31 to 2026-06-30, the latest value is at the tie-adjusted 12th percentile.
- Observed on
- Default comparison window
- 2022-08-31–2026-06-30
- Observations · observed cadence
- 47 · Monthly
- Data source
- Bank of Korea ECOS
A high or low percentile does not by itself make the indicator positive, negative, or a buy or sell signal.
Time-series chart
KR Loan-Deposit Spread
2022-08-31–2026-06-30
Long-history series are stored as real provider observations. Index, FX, VIX, and ratio charts use historical backfill where providers expose it; Korean investor flow and margin-credit feeds expand as stable historical endpoints become available.
Interpretation guide
The loan-deposit spread: measuring the bank's cut
The loan-deposit spread subtracts the average rate Korean banks pay on new deposits from the average rate they charge on new loans. It is the source of banks' interest margin and, for households, the clearest picture of how the gains and burdens of rate changes get divided — which is why regulators and the press watch it closely.
Why the gap widens and narrows
When policy rates rise, lending rates reprice first while deposit rates lag, widening the spread; cuts reverse the pattern. The lag comes from structure — loans are largely floating rate, deposits fix their rate until maturity.
- Widening early in a hiking cycle is usually just the repricing lag.
- A spread that keeps widening once rates settle suggests weaker competition or rising risk premia.
- Weaker borrower credit adds spread on top of the base rate, widening the gap.
What it means for banks and households
The spread maps directly to net interest margin, making it a core input to bank earnings forecasts. For households the same number reads in reverse: a wider spread means borrowing costs more relative to what saving earns.
- Widening supports bank earnings while raising household interest burdens.
- When regulators push disclosure of the spread, banks sometimes narrow it voluntarily.
- Read with TapeFlow's household credit and housing loan series to size the total burden.
Reading it carefully
This measures newly written contracts only. Rates paid by people who borrowed earlier — the outstanding-balance basis — can move differently, so the indicator and felt experience diverge at times.
- The new-lending basis reflects market rates quickly but not existing borrowers' costs.
- Shifts in product or bank mix alone can move the average rate.
- As monthly data it reads as a quarterly-or-longer trend, not a trading signal.