BOK rolls over US$1.2 bln in loans to local banks

SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's central bank said Tuesday it has rolled
over US$1.2 billion in loans to local banks to help them shore up their
foreign-currency liquidity.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the loans, part of a $30 billion currency swap line
with the U.S. Federal Reserve, were auctioned off to eight local lenders.
The 84-day loans were lent at an average interest rate of around 0.9 percent,
according to the BOK.
Between December-January, the central bank extended a total of $16.35 billion to
the banking sector as lenders experienced difficulty re-servicing foreign debts
amid a global financial rout.
Since March, however, the BOK has been scaling down its dollar lending as
swelling foreign-exchange reserves and increased dollar funding by lenders has
helped the local foreign-currency market regain its footing.
The central bank said last week it plans to gradually recoup dollar lending
issued from the currency swap line, depending on market conditions.
As of Tuesday, the central bank's outstanding loans from the Fed credit line
reached $6.7 billion.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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