An advertisement shows housing loan rates offered by a commercial bank in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Commercial banks are rushing to cut their loan interest rates following the Bank of Korea's (BOK) latest 25 basis-point cut to the benchmark interest rate, according to industry officials Wednesday.

Woori Bank was the first in the banking industry to lower interest rates on loans for personal, commercial, housing and other purposes. The country's fourth-largest lender surprised its peers as it usually responds after sufficiently analyzing the effect of the BOK's monetary policy on the market.

Other leading banks were also surprised by the more-than-expected pace of cuts delivered by Woori Bank, which slashed the rate by up to 0.3 percentage point depending on the type of loan.

Regarding Woori's move, Shinhan Bank said it is “contemplating offering a lowered rate by monitoring the market to better serve customers as the No. 2 market player."

NH NongHyup Bank said it is “open to review the possibility of a follow-up rate cut in line with the benchmark rate” while it has been keeping its rate as low as possible.

KB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank said they had already adjusted their rates at the beginning of the year but will “keep track of the market situation.”

The central bank pushed ahead with the rate cut Tuesday, bringing down the rate from 3 percent to 2.75 percent and resuming the monetary easing campaign that began in October.

It briefly paused the campaign in January by holding the rate at 3 percent.

The BOK's measure came as it revised its 2025 economic growth outlook for Korea to 1.5 percent from the previous forecast of 1.9 percent.

“The downward revision was drastic and reflects the serious nature of the country's economy that needs the banking sector's support money supply,” a financial industry official said.