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Foreign currency deposits post biggest drop in nearly 2 years in Oct.: BOK

Published: 28 Nov. 2025, 13:08

A bank representative holds U.S. dollars at a Hana Bank branch in central Seoul on Nov. 5. [YONHAP]

Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents came to $101.83 billion as of end-October, down $5.26 billion from a month earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the sharpest monthly fall since January 2024, when deposits declined by $5.78 billion, and the second straight month of decrease.

Residents include Korean citizens, foreigners who have lived in the country for more than six months, and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank deposits.

"The decline was due mainly to companies' repayment of foreign-currency borrowings, a drop in investor deposits at securities firms and overseas investment executions by pension funds, among other factors," a BOK representative said.

Corporate foreign currency deposits fell $5.5 billion on-month to $86.76 billion, while individual holdings gained $240 million to $15.07 billion.

By currency, U.S. dollar-denominated deposits dropped $5.08 billion to $85.63 billion, and Japanese yen deposits fell $260 million to $8.63 billion.

Euro deposits were nearly unchanged at $5.01 billion, while Chinese yuan deposits increased $60 million to $1.25 billion, the data showed.

Yonhap