Banks' loan rate declined for a third consecutive month in August, as the central bank has frozen its key rate for more than a year amid moderating inflation and high household debt, central bank data showed Friday. The average lending rate of banks applied to new loans last month came to 4.48 percent, down from the previous month's 4.55 percent, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Last month, the central bank kept its key rate frozen at 3.5 percent for the 13th straight time. Banks' lending rate on household loans came to 4.08 percent on average in August, up 0.02 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the BOK. Their lending rate for corporate loans also slid 0.11 percentage point to 4.67 percent over the cited period, it added. The rate banks pay for deposits reached 3.35 percent in August, down 0.06 percentage point from the previous month. The spread on banks' lending and deposit rates narrowed to 1.13 percentage points last month from 1.14 percentage points in July, ac cording to the data. Source: Yonhap News Agency