As Corporate Dollar Deposits Rise, Resident Foreign Currency Deposits Increase for 3 Consecutive Months

An employee is organizing US dollars at the Hana Bank Counterfeit Response Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Resident foreign currency deposits increased for the third consecutive month as major companies' export proceeds in US dollars rose.

According to the Bank of Korea's report on resident foreign currency deposits for August released on the 26th, the balance of resident foreign currency deposits at foreign exchange banks stood at $100.41 billion at the end of last month, up $5.97 billion from the end of the previous month.

Resident foreign currency deposits include domestic foreign currency deposits held by nationals, domestic companies, foreigners residing in Korea for more than six months, and foreign companies operating in Korea.

Resident foreign currency deposits increased for three consecutive months from $88.96 billion at the end of May to August. The increase was mainly driven by a rise in US dollar deposits. The balance of US dollar deposits at the end of August was $83.57 billion, up $5.53 billion from the previous month.

A Bank of Korea official explained, "US dollar deposits increased due to major companies' export proceeds deposits, increased precautionary demand following the decline in the won-dollar exchange rate, and the expansion of investor deposits at securities firms."

During the same period, euro deposits increased by $700 million due to temporary deposits of foreign currency for payment of current account settlements by some companies, while yen deposits decreased by $290 million due to increased spot foreign exchange sales amid yen appreciation.

By sector, corporate deposits (balance of $85.25 billion) increased by $5.9 billion, and individual deposits ($15.16 billion) rose by $50 million. By bank type, domestic banks (balance of $88.5 billion) increased by $5.3 billion, and foreign bank branches ($11.9 billion) increased by $640 million.

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