Banks' net income falls in H1; interest profit hits record high: data
Net profits of Korean banks fell in the first half of 2026, due mainly to a fall in non-interest income, while their interest income recorded the highest six-month figure on record, data showed Sunday. The combined net income of 20 banks came to 13.8 trillion won ($9.95 billion) in the January-June period, down 6.4 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the…
Korean banks experienced a decline in net income for the first half of 2026, primarily due to a significant drop in non-interest income, while their interest income reached a record high over the six-month period, according to data released by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Sunday. The combined net income of the 20 banks amounted to 13.8 trillion won ($9.95 billion) from January to June, marking a 6.4 percent decrease compared to the same period a year earlier.
Interest income for the first half reached 32.2 trillion won, representing an 8.3 percent increase year-on-year. However, non-interest income plummeted by 43.4 percent, falling to 2.9 trillion won, mainly due to a decline in profits tied to the KOSPI market. The FSS attributed the drop in non-interest income to a rise in interest rates and the benchmark KOSPI market, which resulted in a deficit of 2.5 trillion won for the KOSPI-related profits.
The FSS warned that external uncertainties, including geopolitical tensions like the Middle East war and rising delinquency rates, could pose a threat to the financial stability of banks, and pledged to intensify monitoring to address these challenges.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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