Seoul: South Korean banks' bad-loan ratio remained unchanged during the fourth quarter of last year from three months earlier, data showed Wednesday. Loans classified as substandard or below (SBL) held by local banks amounted to 16.6 trillion won (US$11.1 billion) as of end-December, marking an increase of 0.2 trillion won from three months earlier.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the proportion of SBLs to the total outstanding loans was at 0.57 percent at the end of December, maintaining the same level as three months ago. In the fourth quarter, 5.9 trillion won in loans were newly classified as soured, representing an increase of 0.4 trillion won from the previous quarter.
Local banks wrote off 5.7 trillion won worth of bad loans during the October-December period, which was 0.1 trillion won more than the previous quarter. The ratio of business loans classified as SBLs stood at 0.70 percent as of end-December, showing a slight decrease of 0.01 percentage point from three months earlier.
Meanwhile, the ratio for household loans was recorded at 0.31 percent as of end-December, reflecting a slight increase of 0.01 percentage point from three months earlier, according to the financial watchdog.