The interest spread of loans and deposits has remained at the highest level in 40 months. 

The Bank of Korea said on Tuesday that the interest paid by banks to their savings account holders stood at an annual rate of one-point-26 percent last month, up by zero-point-02 percentage points. 

The interest charged by banks for outstanding loans rose by the same margin to an annual rate of three-point-61 percent last month. 

The spread, two-point-35 percent, is the biggest level since two-point-36 percent tallied in November of 2014 for the second consecutive month. 

The loan-deposit spread has continuously increased since hitting two-point-27 percent in November of last year.