KB Financial net soars 26.2% in 2016

Published : Feb 9, 2017 - 16:19 Updated : Feb 9, 2017 - 16:19

KB Financial Group said Thursday its net profit jumped 26.2 percent last year to exceed 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) largely on improved profitability.

The South Korean banking giant posted 2.14 trillion won in full-year net profit, up 26.2 percent from a year earlier. It marks the first time in five years for the group's net profit to top 2 trillion won.

A man passes by a Seoul building of KB Financial Group and KB Kookmin Bank in this photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)

KB cited increased interest income and a decrease in general costs and loan-loss reserves for the rise. Interest profit grew 3.2 percent on-year to 6.42 trillion won in 2016, with commission profit adding 3.3 percent to 1.58 trillion won.

Its net interest margin, a measurement of profitability, climbed 0.04 percentage point to 1.89 percent from 2015.

Loan-loss reserves declined 47.7 percent to 581.2 billion won.

But the net profit of the group's top subsidiary KB Kookmin Bank declined 12.9 percent on-year to 964.3 billion won on increased costs for the "honorary retirement" of some employees. (Yonhap)