Korean banks` overseas earnings dip 10.8 pct in H1

SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- Total earnings by South Korean banks' overseas
operations fell 10.8 percent in the first half from a year earlier due to rising
bad-debt expenses and decreased commission income, the financial watchdog said
Tuesday.
The combined net profit of 11 banks' 128 overseas subsidiaries and branches in 31
countries reached US$226.5 million in the January-June period, compared with $254
million a year ago, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
"In the first half, their asset quality and profitability fell, dented by the
global economic recession and financial market jitters," the watchdog said in a
statement. "But compared with six months earlier, their bottom line improved."
Commission income fell 36.1 percent on-year to $81.8 million in the cited period
while bad-debt expenses jumped 87.5 percent to $116.4 million, it added.
Total assets amounted to $50 billion as of the end of June, down 5.7 percent from
the previous year, it said. Foreign branches' non-performing loan ratio reached
1.34 percent as of end-June, up 0.9 percentage point from a year earlier.
The regulator said it will strengthen its monitoring of local banks' overseas
units, which have been operating in markets where problem loans shot up, and
advise them to put aside more loan-loss reserves to brace for a possible economic
deterioration.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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