Card Companies' H1 Net Profit 1.4944 Trillion KRW... Up 33.7% YoY

Announcement of Credit Card Companies' Operating Performance for the First Half of the Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jin-ho] The net profits of credit card companies in the first half of this year have significantly increased compared to the previous year. This is due to the recovery of consumer spending and the simultaneous increase in card loan usage despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

On the 14th, the Financial Supervisory Service announced this through the '2021 First Half Credit Card Company Business Performance (Preliminary)'. The net profit of eight specialized credit card companies in the first half of this year was 1.4944 trillion won, a 33.7% increase compared to 1.1181 trillion won in the same period last year.

Merchant fee income (257.8 billion won) increased due to the recovery of consumer sentiment, and card loan income (132 billion won) also increased due to the rise in card loans. After setting aside provisions for bad debts, the net profit for the first half of this year was about 1.0531 trillion won.

The total card usage amount in the first half was 462.6 trillion won, an 8.9% increase compared to 424.8 trillion won in the same period last year. Personal credit card usage (293.5 trillion won) increased significantly due to the recovery in consumption.

Corporate credit card usage and check card usage also increased compared to the same period last year, reaching 10.8 trillion won and 2.9 trillion won respectively. The usage amount of card loans such as cash services and card loans was 56.1 trillion won, a 5.8% increase compared to 53 trillion won in the same period last year.

As of the end of June this year, the delinquency rate was 1.13%, down 0.25 percentage points from 1.38% at the end of the same month last year.

A Financial Supervisory Service official explained, "Asset soundness, including the delinquency rate, is continuously improving, and liquidity management has been strengthened, resulting in favorable funding conditions. However, to ensure stable management of household debt, we will strengthen risk management to prevent excessive increases in card loans and prepare for the possibility of future interest rate hikes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.