SEOUL, April 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' loan delinquency ratio rose for a second successive month due to more new delinquent loans than bad loan settlement, financial watchdog data showed Friday.
The ratio of bank loans, at least one month overdue, to the total gained 0.06 percentage points from a month earlier to 0.62 percent at the end of February, after climbing by the same percentage points in the prior month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
New delinquent loans reached 3.0 trillion won (2.0 billion U.S. dollars) in the cited month, larger than the settlement of non-performing loans worth 1.3 trillion won (882.6 million dollars).
The delinquency ratio has roughly been on the rise after hitting a bottom of 0.20 percent in June 2022 on the back of lingering uncertainty over massive household debt.
Excluding the settled bad loans, the delinquency ratio for fresh bank loans was 0.12 percent in February, up from 0.11 percent in the previous month.
The delinquency ratio for bank corporate loans increased 0.09 percentage points from a month earlier to 0.76 percent at the end of February, while the ratio for household loans added 0.03 percentage points to 0.45 percent. ■