S.Korean banks’ loan delinquency ratio hits record low in June

SEOUL, Aug. 17– South Korean banks’ loan delinquency ratio hit a record low in June as the government encouraged banks to extend loan maturity, financial watchdog data showed Wednesday. Bank loans, overdue for at least one month, reached a new low of 0.20 percent at the end of June, down 0.04 percentage points from a month earlier, according to the Financial…

SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) — South Korean banks’ loan delinquency ratio hit a record low in June as the government encouraged banks to extend loan maturity, financial watchdog data showed Wednesday.

Bank loans, overdue for at least one month, reached a new low of 0.20 percent at the end of June, down 0.04 percentage points from a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

It came as the banks were encouraged to extend the maturity for loans to small merchants and microbusinesses troubled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bad debt ratio has declined since May 2018, but expectations ran high for growing delinquent loans amid higher borrowing costs.

The country’s central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate six times since August last year to counter inflation.

The delinquency ratio for bank corporate loans slipped 0.05 percentage points from a month earlier to 0.22 percent at the end of June, and the ratio for household loans retreated 0.02 percentage points to 0.17 percent. Enditem