In February this year, residents' foreign currency deposits in Korea fell by about $500 million, data showed. It was the second straight monthly decline after January. Deposits decreased mainly in dollars and yen due to overseas investments by corporations and current-account payments.

According to the "Trends in Residents' Foreign Currency Deposits" the Bank of Korea released on the 23rd, the balance of residents' foreign currency deposits at Kookhwan Bank at the end of February this year was $117.53 billion. That was down $490 million from the previous month. Residents' foreign currency deposits refer to domestic foreign currency deposits by Korean nationals and domestic corporations, foreigners who have resided in Korea for more than six months, and foreign corporations operating domestically.

On the 5th, at the counterfeit response center at Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, an employee sorts U.S. dollars. /Courtesy of News1

Residents' deposits fell for the second consecutive month, following January this year (-$1.4 billion). U.S. dollar holdings were tallied at $96.0 billion, down $340 million. Yen deposits decreased by $210 million to $9.3 billion, euro deposits fell by $200 million to $9.59 billion, and yuan deposits decreased by $150 million to $1.23 billion. Other-currency deposits were the same as the previous month at $1.41 billion.

A Bank of Korea (BOK) official said, "Dollar deposits decreased due to the execution of overseas investments by corporations and current-account payments," adding, "Yen deposits fell due to current-account payments and other factors."

By holder, corporations' deposits ($100.23 billion) decreased by $450 million. Individuals' deposits ($17.31 billion) fell by $40 million. By bank, domestic banks ($98.6 billion) were down $280 million, and foreign bank branches ($18.94 billion) were down $210 million.

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