SEOUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' capital adequacy ratio rose in the first quarter due to faster capital growth than risk-weighted assets, financial watchdog data showed Thursday.
The total capital ratio for 28 banks, bank holding companies and Internet-only banks under the Bank for International Settlements framework averaged 15.68 percent at the end of March, up 0.08 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
The ratio, a barometer of financial soundness, measures the proportion of a bank's capital to its risk-weighted assets. Banks are required to maintain the ratio above 11.5 percent.
The financial watchdog cautioned that risk factors remained amid the delayed economic recovery at home and the U.S. tariffs imposition.
The tier-1 capital ratio, which gauges common stock capital and retained earnings, increased 0.14 percentage points from three months earlier to 14.53 percent at the end of March.
The common equity tier-1 capital ratio, or the proportion of common equity to risk-weighted assets, advanced 0.13 percentage points to 13.20 percent in the cited quarter.
Banks are required to keep the tier-1 and the common equity tier-1 capital ratios above 9.5 percent and 8.0 percent, respectively. ■
