BNK Financial Group's performance in the first half of this year worsened compared to the same period last year. This is attributed to a decrease in interest income and non-interest income, along with an increase in loan loss expenses. However, the performance in the second quarter showed significant improvement compared to the same period last year.
BNK Financial reported on the 31st that the group's consolidated net income for the first half of this year fell 3.4% year-on-year to 475.8 billion won. The net income for the second quarter was 309.2 billion won, marking a 27.3% increase compared to the same period last year.
The reason for the deterioration in the first half performance is due to the decrease in interest income. Interest income was recorded at 1.4439 trillion won, down 35.2 billion won from last year. In contrast, the provision for loan losses increased by 18.2% during the same period, leading to an increase in loan loss expenses.
By affiliate, Busan Bank's net income for the first half of this year increased by 300 million won to 251.7 billion won compared to the same period last year. In contrast, Gyeongnam Bank's net income for the same period dropped by 45.8 billion won to 158.5 billion won.
The non-bank division showed an increase of 12.7 billion won to 108.8 billion won compared to the same period last year. Although BNK Capital and Investment Securities decreased by 7.3 billion won and 15.3 billion won, respectively, both savings banks and asset management increased by 3.3 billion won and 6.1 billion won, respectively.
The solvency indicator for the ratio of non-performing loans was 1.62%, improved by 0.07 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. However, the arrears rate rose by 0.27 percentage points during the same period to 1.39%.
BNK Financial held a board meeting on the same day and set the quarterly dividend at 120 won per share to enhance shareholder value. It was also resolved to repurchase and retire its own shares worth 60 billion won in the second half of this year.