Last year, the performance growth of credit card companies stagnated. Non-card lending companies, including capital (installment finance companies, leasing companies, and new technology finance companies), saw a significant decrease in net profit over the past year.
The Financial Supervisory Service announced the '2024 operating performance of credit specialized financial companies' on the 19th. Last year, the net profit of the eight major credit card companies recorded 2.591 trillion won. This represents an increase of 870 million won (0.3%) compared to the previous year, effectively maintaining the status quo. In terms of total revenue, there was an increase of 1.4304 trillion won compared to 2023, especially as interest income from card loans and other card lending revenues grew by 467.3 billion won compared to the previous year, leading revenue growth. However, interest expenses increased by 598.3 billion won compared to the previous year, and total costs also rose by 1.4217 trillion won, offsetting revenue.
There were no significant changes in terms of soundness. As of the end of last year, the arrears rate for credit card companies was 1.65%, up 0.02 percentage points from the end of the previous year (1.63%). During the same period, the ratio of non-performing loans, which indicates the proportion of bad assets, rose from 1.14% to 1.16%, also an increase of 0.02 percentage points. By the end of last year, the allowance for bad debts for credit card companies was 108.1%, with all companies recording an allowance rate exceeding 100%.
The non-card lending industry experienced both deteriorating performance and worsening soundness. Last year, the net profit of 181 non-card lending companies totaled 2.4898 trillion won, a decrease of 212.8 billion won (7.9%) compared to the previous year (2.7026 trillion won). The arrears rate as of the end of last year was 2.10%, and the ratio of non-performing loans was 2.86%. Over the year, the arrears rate increased by 0.22 percentage points, and the non-performing loans ratio rose by 0.66 percentage points.