Domestic banks now have breath in borrowing foreign currencies . Merely a month ago , banks were demanding solutions to U . S . dollar shortages such as releasing the foreign exchange holdings . However , as the U . S . subprime mortgage situation is seen to have ameliorated recently , escaping its nadir , the condition of international capital market is recovering . According to the Korea Center for International Finance on Monday , the spread for three - month foreign exchange loan by domestic banks recorded 0 . 80 to 0 . 90 percent from May 12 to 16 , dropping by 0 . 10 to 0 . 20 percentage points from the end of last month . Compared to the end of March when the figure skyrocketed to 1 . 20 percent , the recent number suffered a sharp drop of 0 . 40 percentage points . The CDS ( Credit Default Swap ) premium of Korea ’ s five - year government bond , representing mid - to long - term foreign loan conditions , saw 0 . 80 to 1 . 00 percentage points during the same time frame , falling by one third against mid - March ( 2 . 50 to 3 . 00 percentage points ) . Such reduction in the spread of short - term and mid - to long - term foreign currency loans means that it has become that much easier for banks to borrow foreign currencies overseas . Starting with the Export - Import Bank of Korea issuing euro bonds worth 750 million euros ( approx . $ 1 . 2 billion ) on May 16 , other commercial banks are actively weighing issuing bonds in foreign currencies . Woori Bank is to issue bonds worth $ 300 million by early next month in Malaysian ringgit and approximately $ 200 million worth bonds in Thai baht will be issued in July . [ Dong - eun Lee / KHS ] [ ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk . co . kr , All rights reserved ]