Major Banks Increase Time Deposit Rates Amid Rising Market Interest

On October 10, Hana Bank announced a 0.1 percentage point increase in its flagship time deposit product, "Hana Time Deposit," raising the interest rate from 3.2% to 3.3% per annum, effective immediately. This follows a previous increase in July, when the rate was raised from 2.9% to 3.2%.

A bank official stated that the adjustments are intended to align with the recent upward trend in market interest rates.

Similarly, Woori Bank has raised the interest rate for its "WON Plus Deposit" by 0.2 percentage points, moving it from 3.2% to 3.4% per annum.

The Korea Federation of Banks reports that KB Kookmin Bank now offers a rate of 3.2% for its "KB Star Time Deposit," while Shinhan Bank provides an interest rate of 3.3% for its "Shinhan My Plus Time Deposit." NH Nonghyup Bank has set its rate at 3.25% for the "NH Waltz Rotating Deposit II." All five major banks are currently offering time deposits with rates in the 3% range.

As these deposit rate hikes take effect, the total time deposit balances at these five major banks have surged to approximately 1,000 trillion won since early last month. The Bank of Korea reported that the deposit balances of domestic banks shifted from a decrease of 30 trillion won in July to a slight increase of 100 billion won in August. Notably, time deposits rose by 20.3 trillion won, continuing the upward trend from the previous month, which saw an increase of 42.3 trillion won.