SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Yonhap) -- Standard Chartered Bank Korea said Monday its first-half net profit edged down from a year earlier on increased loan-loss reserves and costs.
Its net profit stood at 209 billion won (US$157 million) in the January-June period, down 1.4 percent from a year earlier, the local unit of British banking giant Standard Chartered Bank said.
Its operating income rose 6.4 percent on-year to 278 billion won in the first half, but its net profit sank on increased costs and reserves.
Its interest income surged 15 percent on-year to 584 billion won, and its non-interest income soared 32.1 percent to 173 billion won over the cited period.
The bank's return on equity, a key measure of profitability, stood at 7.93 percent in the first half, down 0.56 percentage point from a year earlier.
The lender's ratio of nonperforming loans rose 0.14 percentage point to 0.31 percent at the end of June.
Standard Chartered Bank Korea said its capital adequacy ratio, a key barometer of financial health, had reached 20.39 percent as of end-June. The ratio measures the share of a bank's total capital to its risk-weighted assets.
The Bank for International Settlements, an international organization of central banks based in Basel, Switzerland, advises lenders to maintain a ratio of 8 percent or higher.
In 2005, the British financial group took over the financially troubled First Bank of Korea.
The headquarters of Standard Chartered Bank Korea in central Seoul (Yonhap)
sam@yna.co.kr
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