Banks' bad loans up in Q4 on rise in overdue biz loans

SEOUL, March 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean banks' nonperforming loans expanded in the fourth quarter from three months earlier on a rise in overdue corporate loans, data showed Wednesday.

Bad loans held by local banks reached 10.1 trillion won (US$7.7 billion) at the end of December, up from 9.7 trillion won three months earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service.

The percentage of bad loans came to 0.4 percent of the total as of end-December, up from 0.38 percent in the previous quarter.

The proportion reflected loans overdue for three months or longer in principal and interest payments.

Overdue businesses loans amounted to 8.3 trillion won, up from 8 trillion won three months earlier, the data showed. They accounted for 82.3 percent of total nonperforming loans.

Nonperforming household loans stood at 1.7 trillion won compared with the previous quarter's 1.5 trillion won, the data showed.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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