KEB 2008 net falls 16.6 pct on increased reserves

SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), South Korea's No. 5 lender, said Wednesday that its earnings declined 16.6 percent last year as the slumping economy and corporate restructuring prompted the lender to put aside more money to cover possible loan losses.

Net profit reached 801.3 billion won (US$576 million) last year, compared with
960.9 billion won a year earlier, the lender said in a regulatory filing. Its
fourth-quarter earnings dipped 9.47 percent on-quarter to 136.6 billion won.
Sales jumped 159.4 percent on-year to 22.7 trillion won while operating profit
fell 18.3 percent to 1.15 trillon won, the bank, controlled by U.S. private
equity fund Lone Star Funds, added.
KEB said its net interest margin, a key barometer of profitability, reached 2.82
percent in the fourth quarter, up from 2.81 percent in the third quarter.
In mid-September, British banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc backed out of a $6.3
billion deal to buy a 51.02 percent stake in KEB from Lone Star Funds, citing
falling asset values amid global financial turmoil.
The lender said it plans to pay a dividend of 125 won per share. The results were
announced before the opening of Seoul's stock market.