Seoul: Credit card companies in South Korea saw their combined net profit rise from a year earlier, helped by an increase in commission income, data showed Wednesday. The combined net profit of eight credit card firms came to 2.59 trillion won (US$1.79 billion) last year, up 0.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
According to Yonhap News Agency, the combined revenue of these credit card firms increased by 5.3 percent, or 1.43 trillion won, reaching 28.21 trillion won over the cited period. Despite the growth in net profit, the ratio of loans classified as substandard or below rose slightly to 1.16 percent, up 0.02 percent point from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the financial regulator reported that the combined net profit of specialized credit finance companies, excluding credit card firms, amounted to 2.49 trillion won last year, marking a decrease of 7.9 percent from a year earlier. The 181 specialized credit finance firms include installment financing, leasing, and new technology venture businesses, as per the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).