S.Korean bank profit surges 23.8%

S.Korean bank profit surges 23.8%

SEOUL: Higher interest and fee income helped South Korean banks increase their net profit by 23.8 percent in the nine months to September, official data showed Wednesday.

The combined net profit of commercial and state-run banks soared to 5.39 trillion won (US$4.9 billion) in the first nine months from 4.36 trillion won a year earlier, the Financial Supervisory Services (FSS) said.

Profit before loan loss provisions grew to 13.13 trillion from 10.56 trillion won, it said.

From January to September, Kookmin Bank and 14 other commercial banks posted 4.02 trillion won in net profit, compared to 3.56 trillion won a year earlier. Profit before loan loss provisions rose to 9.66 trillion won from 8.79 trillion won.

Kookmin Bank reported the largest net profit of 1.51 trillion won, followed by Woori Bank with 852.8 billion won. Shinhan Bank was third with 444.8 billion won. -- AFP