SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' net income logged a double-digit growth for the first nine months of this year due to higher non-interest income, financial watchdog data showed Thursday.
Net income of domestic banks came to 21.1 trillion won (14.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-September period, up 12 percent compared to the same period of last year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
Interest income rose 0.7 percent to 44.8 trillion won (30.5 billion dollars) amid higher interest-bearing assets that offset lower interest margins.
Non-interest income jumped 18.5 percent to 6.8 trillion won (4.6 billion dollars) in the period, owing to an increase in foreign exchange and derivatives-related gains. ■
