SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' loan delinquency ratio fell in three months due to more bad loan settlements than new delinquent loans, financial watchdog data showed Friday.
The ratio of bank loans, at least one month overdue, to the total slipped 0.10 percentage points from a month earlier to 0.51 percent at the end of September, after rising for the past two months, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
New delinquent loans reached 2.5 trillion won (1.71 billion U.S. dollars) in the cited month, lower than the settlement of non-performing loans worth 4.8 trillion won.
The delinquency ratio has roughly been on the rise after hitting a bottom of 0.20 percent in June 2022 on the back of lingering uncertainties over massive household debt.
Excluding the settled bad loans, the delinquency ratio for fresh bank loans was 0.10 percent in September, down from 0.12 percent in the previous month.
The delinquency ratio for bank corporate loans declined 0.12 percentage points from a month earlier to 0.61 percent at the end of September, while the ratio for household loans dipped 0.06 percentage points to 0.39 percent. ■
