Banks strengthen capital buffers in Q2

Korean banks saw their capital adequacy ratio rise in the second quarter of the year, data showed Monday.

The average capital adequacy ratio of 17 commercial and state-run banks stood at 15.77 percent as of the end of June, up from 15.74 percent three months earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service.

The watchdog said the ratio increased as the rise in capital base offset an uptick in risk-weighted assets.

The ratio, a key barometer of financial soundness, measures the proportion of a bank's capital to its risk-weighted assets.

The Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements, an international organization of central banks, advises lenders to maintain a ratio of 10 percent or higher.

Yonhap