off-the-wire

U.S. banking woes a major factor behind Bank of Korea rate freeze

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters

SEOUL, May 2 (Reuters) - Most of the South Korean central bank's board members cited concerns about the U.S. banking sector's health as a major factor to keep interest rates steady at their April 11 meeting, minutes showed on Tuesday.

While the collapse of U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank had only limited direct impact on local markets, "it is not time for us to be able to loosen our sense of caution" given latent risks domestically, one member said.

Five of the Bank of Korea's six board members included in the minutes cited global financial instability resulting from banking sector woes as a major factor behind their decision to hold interest rates steady.

The minutes do not identify speakers and contains remarks of six of the seven members, excluding the governor. The Bank of Korea is now widely expected to keep rates steady or begin cutting for the rest of this year.

The Bank of Korea next reviews its policy on May 25.

Reporting by Choonsik Yoo Editing by David Goodman
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