Average lending rates for SMEs rise to highest in more than 10 years

South Korea’s small and medium-sized enterprises are suffering from mounting borrowing costs as the average interest rate exceeded the 5 percent mark, the highest level in more than 10 years, the Bank of Korea’s data showed on Thursday. The proportion of their loans with an interest rate of 5 percent or higher was 70 percent, a 20-fold increase in just one year.