Banks' loan delinquency rate inches down in March

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged down in March from the previous month, the financial regulator said Thursday.

The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.28 percent at the end of March, down 0.05 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

Compared with a year earlier, the banks' loan delinquency rate was down 0.11 percentage point.

Banks' loan delinquency rate remains stable mainly because the government has encouraged local lenders to extend loan maturity or delay interest payments to help households and firms struggling to cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The delinquency rate for corporate loans fell 0.07 percentage point on-month to 0.36 percent in March, and the figure for household loans declined 0.04 percentage point to 0.18 percent. (Yonhap)