Financial sector's overseas real estate investment up in Q4

The financial sector's investment in overseas real estate rose in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous three months, data showed Monday.

Banks, insurers and other financial institutions held an outstanding 55.9 trillion won ($36.4 billion) worth of investment in overseas real estate as of the end of December, up 800 billion won from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

Insurers' outstanding investment in overseas real estate stood at 31.4 trillion won, followed by banks with 11.9 trillion won and securities firms with 7.2 trillion won.

Of the 32.3 trillion won invested by financial companies in single investment sites, 2.08 trillion won, or 6.56 percent, was at risk of an event of default (EOD).

An EOD occurs when a debtor's credit risk rises and a financial institution recalls loans before maturity, which can result in losses for domestic financial firms for their property investment.

Yonhap