Financial holding firms` H1 net dips 25.7 pct

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean financial holding firms saw their
earnings fall 25.7 percent in the first half from a year earlier in the absence
of one-off profits, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.

The consolidated net profit of the four financial holding firms reached 2.99
trillion won (US$2.52 billion) in the January-June period, compared with 4.02
trillion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service
(FSS).
The weaker earnings came because they booked a one-time profit of 1.22 trillion
won by selling stakes in LG Card Co. in the first quarter of 2007, the FSS said.
Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea's No. 2 financial services firm, bought a
78.6 percent stake in the nation's top card company for 6.7 trillion won in March
2007. Shinhan Group logged the biggest profit of 1.41 trillion won, followed by
961.8 billion won for Woori Finance Holdings Co., the country's top financial
services company.
Meanwhile, their combined assets reached 681.2 trillion won as of the end of
June, up 11.9 percent from the end of last year, the watchdog said.