Korea Exchange Bank, South Korea's fifth-largest lender, said Friday its earnings for 2007 declined 5.9 percent from a year earlier, due mainly to higher provisions against risky loans.
Net income amounted to 947.1 billion won ($1 billion) last year, compared with 1 trillion won the previous year, the lender said in a regulatory filing.
Sales gained 10 percent year-on-year to 8.79 trillion won while operating profit fell 5.4 percent to 1.44 trillion won, it said.
The lender, controlled by U.S. private equity fund Lone Star Funds, said its earnings for 2007 decreased as it put aside more money to cover possible loan losses in line with stricter rules.
The lender said it plans to pay a dividend of 700 won per share. The results were announced before the opening of Seoul's stock market.