As of July, 11 of 16 South Korean banks handling mortgage loans had higher average refinancing rates than rates for general new mortgage loans, raising concerns about whether the program is delivering cheaper borrowing. iM Bank recorded the widest gap, with a refinancing rate of 7.17% annually versus 4.84% for a new mortgage loan, a difference of 2.33 percentage points. Jeonbuk, Jeju, Busan and Suhyup Banks also reported refinancing rates 0.39 to 0.53 percentage points above new-loan rates. Among the five major banks, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup showed similar inversions; Woori's refinancing rate was 4.71%, or 0.37 percentage points above its 4.34% new-loan rate. The pattern also appeared in unsecured lending, where 10 of 16 banks had higher refinancing rates, including gaps of 1.29 percentage points at Gwangju Bank and 1.02 percentage points at Hana Bank. Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the People Power Party called for an investigation into the causes and an assessment of borrowers' actual interest savings. Financial authorities and banks said average rates can differ because of borrowers' credit scores, collateral values and loan-product composition.