Delinquency rate on bank loans surges in January

The delinquency rate on loans extended by local banks spiked in January due mainly to a base effect and increased newly soured loans, data showed Friday.

The delinquency rate on banks' won-denominated loans rose 0.09 percentage point from a month earlier to 0.53 percent at the end of January, according to preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The amount of newly delinquent loans came to 3.2 trillion won ($2.18 billion) in January, up from the 2.5 trillion won the previous month.

The amount of write-offs of bad loans, on the other hand, fell by 3.3 trillion won to 1 trillion won over the cited period, the data showed.

The delinquency rate on corporate loans stood at 0.61 percent at the end of January, up 0.11 percentage point from a month before.

The rate on household loans also rose 0.05 percentage point to 0.43 percent over the cited period, the FSS said.

Yonhap