S.Korean banks' capital adequacy ratio inches up to 15.4 pct in Q3

Source: Xinhua | 2019-12-05

South Korean banks' capital adequacy ratio inched up to 15.4 percent in the third quarter, financial watchdog data showed Wednesday.

The capital adequacy ratio of 19 local commercial and state-run banks averaged 15.40 percent under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) framework as of the end of September, up 0.05 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The ratio, a barometer of financial healthiness, measures the proportion of a bank's capital to its risk-weight assets. Banks are required by the BIS to maintain the ratio above 8 percent.

The higher ratio came as banks' capital increased at a faster pace than risk-weighted assets during the third quarter.

Citibank Korea logged the highest capital ratio of 19.51 percent, followed Gwangju Bank with 16.71 percent, Shinhan Bank with 16.46 percent and Kookmin Bank with 16.42 percent each.

The ratios for two Internet-only banks, K-Bank and Kakao Bank, stood at 11.85 percent and 9.97 percent respectively.