Brokerage firms' 2015 net nearly doubles

SEOUL, Feb. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean brokerage firms saw their net profit nearly double in 2015 from a year earlier due largely to an increase in commission income, the financial watchdog said Monday.

The combined net income of 56 brokerage firms stood at 3.23 trillion won (US$2.6 billion) in 2015, up 91.7 percent from the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The robust performance is attributable to a rise in commission income, which surged 32.6 percent on-year to 7.93 trillion won last year, according to the FSS.

Last year, the combined daily turnover of the main KOSPI and secondary KOSDAQ markets stood at 8.87 trillion won, up 49 percent from the previous year, according to the data by the bourse operator, the Korea Exchange.

Of the securities companies, 47 posted a net income of a combined 3.27 trillion won, while nine logged a net loss totaling 39.9 billion won, according to the watchdog.

Their return on equity (ROE), a key gauge of profitability, came to 7.3 percent in 2015, up 3.2 percentage points from the previous year, it noted.

Futures trading firms also logged improved performances last year, according to the FSS.

Six futures trading companies reported a combined 10.6 billion won in income in 2015, up 404.8 percent from a year earlier, with their ROE coming to 2.7 percent, up 2.2 percentage points from the previous year.

The growth was mainly driven by the increase in commission income, according to the FSS.

"Despite positive earnings last year, brokerage firms and futures trading companies will experience a tough time this year as they face a slew of risk factors at home and abroad," a FSS official said. "We will strengthen monitoring while encouraging them to strive for risk management."

graceoh@yna.co.kr
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