Delinquency ratio on bank loans edges up in February

The delinquency ratio on loans extended by banks in South Korea inched up from a month earlier in February, data showed Wednesday. The delinquency ratio on banks' won-denominated loans came to 0.51 percent in February, up 0.06 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. From a year earlier, the reading marks a 0.15 percentage-point rise. The on-month increase marked a second consecutive month of increase, following a 0.07 percentage-point rise in January. The amount of newly overdue loans came to 2.9 trillion won (US$2.1 billion) in February, same as the previous month, while the amount of resolved loans also remained nearly unchanged over the cited period at 1.3 trillion won, according to the financial regulator. The delinquency ratio for corporate loans came to 0.59 percent as of end-February, up 0.09 percentage point from a month before. The ratio for household loans stood at 0.42 percent, up 0.04 percentage point. Source: Yonhap News Agency