The South Korean anti-trust watchdog has launched an inspection on local banks suspected of colluding to fix interest rates, bank industry sources said Wednesday, a move insiders linked to the government’s push for lenders to expand credit loans to small and midsized firms.

According to the sources, the Fair Trade Commission dispatched officials starting Tuesday to four local banks ― Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank, Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank ― to examine their interest rates for lending and savings.

The inspectors have interviewed bank officials in charge of individual banking services and went into their email accounts and messenger chat histories to see their exchanges with members of other banks. (Yonhap)