Bank holding companies in Korea paid less dividends to shareholders in 2011 than a year earlier despite increased net profit, the financial regulator said Sunday.

The banking groups' dividends to holders of common stock amounted to a combined 1.26 trillion won ($1.11 billion) last year, down 17.1 billion won from a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

Their dividend payout ratio, or the percentage of earnings paid to shareholders in dividends, came to 14.7 percent in 2011, down 5.2 percentage points from the previous year.

The combined net income of the bank holding companies stood at 8.87 trillion won last year, up 2.79 trillion won from a year earlier.

As of the end of 2011, their total assets reached 1,431.6 trillion won, up 7.9 percent from the previous year.

The banking groups' capital adequacy ratio, a key barometer of financial health, came in at 13.26 percent, down 0.26 percentage point from a year ago, according to the FSS. (Yonhap)