SEOUL, May 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' deposit and lending rates dropped to a record low in April due to steep interest rate cuts, the central bank said Tuesday.

    According to the Bank of Korea, the average deposit rate for households and companies topped 2.88 percent in April, down 0.09 percentage points from a month earlier.

    The April figure stood at the lowest level since January 1996 when the BOK started compiling related data.

    Local lenders' average lending rate also fell by 0.1 percentage points to hit a record low of 5.4 percent in April, the BOK added.

    The fall came amid the BOK's freeze of the benchmark rate at a record low of 2 percent for the third consecutive month after conducting six consecutive rate cuts totaling 3.25 percentage points since last October.

    "A record-low key rate pulled down market rates like returns on certificates of deposit, which led to a fall in local banks' deposit and lending rates," Kim Joo-young, an official at the BOK was quoted as saying.