September New COFIX Rises 0.04% to 3.40%

The Cost of Funds Index (COFIX), which is used as the benchmark interest rate for variable-rate mortgage loans in the banking sector, has risen.

The Korea Federation of Banks announced on the 15th that the COFIX based on new loan amounts in September was recorded at 3.40%, up 0.04 percentage points from the previous month (3.36%). COFIX had shown a downward trend for three consecutive months from June to August but reversed to an increase this time.

The COFIX based on outstanding loan balances fell by 0.04 percentage points to 3.63%, and the COFIX based on new outstanding balances decreased by 0.02 percentage points to 3.12%.

COFIX is the weighted average interest rate of funds raised by eight domestic banks, reflecting increases or decreases in interest rates of deposit products such as savings and time deposits, and bank bonds actually handled by banks.

In particular, the COFIX based on new loan amounts is calculated based on funds newly raised during the relevant month, so it tends to reflect market interest rate changes relatively quickly. With the rise in COFIX, mortgage loan rates at major commercial banks are also expected to be adjusted.

The short-term COFIX, based on the announced interest rates over the past four weeks, ranged from 3.42% to 3.49%. The short-term COFIX is calculated based on short-term funds with a contract maturity of three months.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.