SEOUL, May 16 (Yonhap) -- The combined net profit of South Korean banks rose more than 25 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier due to reduced bad debt expenses, the nation's top financial watchdog said Tuesday.
The lenders' combined earnings reached 3.5 trillion won (US$3.7
billion) in the January-March period, up 26.5 percent from a year earlier and 13.2 percent from the previous quarter, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
"Improvements in the banks' asset quality resulted in a sharp decrease in bad loan provisions, while an expansion in loans and other types of assets also contributed to the surge," the watchdog said.
The lenders set aside 516 billion won in bad loan provisions in the first three months of the year, down from 1.1 trillion won a year ago and down 1.8 trillion won from the previous quarter.
South Korean banks posted record net profits last year as improving asset quality resulted in lower loss provisions.
In the first quarter, the lenders' interest income accounted for 86.4 percent, or 7.3 trillion won, of the total revenue, while non-interest income made up the rest with 1.1 trillion won, the watchdog said.
S. Korean banks' earnings up more than 25 pct in Q1 |
