Foreign currency deposits down in Aug. on declined corporate savings

An employee counts 100-dollar U.S. banknotes at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Seoul, Sept. 5. Yonhap

Foreign currency deposits at banks in Korea shrank in August partly due to businesses withdrawing foreign investment and pulling back savings to pay for imports, central bank data showed Tuesday.

Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits reached $88.27 billion as of end-August, down $2.11 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Residents include local citizens, companies, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign firms. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits.

The decline stemmed in part from businesses withdrawing dollar-denominated foreign direct investment or pulling back dollar deposits to pay for imports.

Corporate foreign currency savings amounted to $74.41 billion in August, down $1.49 billion from a month earlier. Individuals' foreign currency savings were also down $620 million to $13.86 billion, the data showed.

Dollar-denominated deposits came to $74.9 billion as of end-August, down $1.57 billion from a month earlier. Euro-denominated deposits also declined $460 million to $4.74 billion, according to the data. (Yonhap)