Net profit of foreign banks in Korea grows 6% in 2023

This March 6 photo shows a clerk sorting $100 banknotes at a Seoul bank. Yonhap

Foreign bank branches in Korea continued to enjoy a rise in their net profit last year as their earnings from securities investment turned to black, data showed Wednesday.

The combined net profit of 33 foreign banks here came to 1.55 trillion won ($1.16 billion) in 2023, up 6 percent from 1.47 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The figure marks a slowdown from a 40.4 percent on-year spike posted in 2022.

The on-year increase came despite a sharp drop in interest income as the local branches of the foreign banks posted a 1.03 trillion won profit from investments in stocks and bonds, marking a turnaround from a net loss of 1.42 trillion won in 2022.

Their interest income tumbled 18.7 percent to 1.23 trillion won from 1.51 trillion won over the cited period.

Their combined income from foreign exchange and derivatives sales plunged 61.8 percent on-year to 1.02 trillion won in 2023, according to the FSS. (Yonhap)