South Korean banks’ combined net profit rose from a year earlier in 2023 as high interest rates boosted their interest income, data showed Thursday.
The combined net profit of the banks came to 21.3 trillion won (US$16.2 billion) last year, up 15 percent from 18.5 trillion won in 2022, according to the preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service.
The local banks’ interest income stood at 59.2 trillion won in 2023, up 3.2 trillion won from a year earlier, while their average net income margin (NIM), the difference between interest received and interest paid, climbed to 1.65 percent from 1.62 percent over the cited period.
Their noninterest income also jumped 68 percent on-year to 5.8 trillion won from 3.5 trillion won.
Their return on assets, a key gauge of profitability, gained 0.06 percentage point to 0.58 percent last year, with their return on equity gaining 0.5 percentage point to 7.92 percent.
The banks’ loan-loss provisions surged 55.6 percent on-year to 10 trillion won in 2023.
Sourc
e: Yonhap News Agency