Stock brokers in S. Korea post 69.3 pct fall in Q3 earnings

SEOUL, March 2 (Yonhap) -- Total earnings by securities firms in South Korea tumbled 69.3 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from three months earlier as falling share prices dented stock-related income and commission gains, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.

The combined net profit of 62 brokerage houses, including 13 foreign securities
firms operating in South Korea, reached 237.5 billion won (US$204.7 million) in
the October-December period, compared with 772.6 billion won three months
earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). They closed their
books March 31.
The brokerages swung to a loss of 28.3 billion won in stock-related revenue in
the cited period, a turnaround from a 565.5 billion won gain the previous
quarter. Brokerage houses' commission income declined 29.1 percent on-quarter to
1.1 trillion won, it added.
"A rise in bad debt expenses including higher reserves stemming from ailing Kumho
Asiana Group also hurt their bottom lines," the watchdog said.
Total earnings, however, amounted to 2.09 trillion won in the April-December
period, up 46.4 percent from the previous year, the FSS added.
As of end-December, combined assets reached 164 trillion won, up 16.6 percent
from a year ago, it noted.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr