Delinquency ratio on bank loans up for 2nd month in May

Korean banks’ loan delinquency ratio climbed for a second straight month in May as newly overdue corporate and household loans increased.

Bank teller machines are seen in central Seoul on July 12.

The delinquency ratio on loans extended by banks rose for a second consecutive month in May due mainly to a rise in newly soured loans, data showed Wednesday.

The delinquency ratio on banks' won-denominated loans stood at 0.67 percent as of the end of May, up 0.06 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The amount of newly overdue loans came to 3.3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) in May, up 400 billion won from the previous month.

The amount of write-offs of such loans, on the other hand, came in at 1.5 trillion won, down 100 billion won over the cited period, according to the FSS.

The delinquency ratio for corporate loans came to 0.84 percent as of the end of May, up 0.1 percentage point from a month earlier, and the ratio for household loans added 0.03 percentage points to 0.45 percent over the same period.


Yonhap