S. Korean card firms` Q3 net climbs 4.5 pct

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean credit card companies' earnings rose 4.5 percent on-year in the third-quarter thanks to increased use of plastic money, the financial watchdog said Monday.
The combined net profit of five credit card issuers came to 444.7 billion won
(US$308.8 million) in the July-September period, compared with 425.6 billion won
a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
Increased credit card usage and expanded spending following a hike in inflation
boosted the bottom line for the credit card issuers despite concerns over an
economic downturn, the FSS said.
Total credit card bills issued by the five firms and 15 other banks that provide
credit card services amounted to 118.3 trillion won in the third quarter, up 15.6
percent from a year ago, according to the financial watchdog.
At the end of September, the average delinquency rate for the five credit card
issuers stood at 3.28 percent, slowing from 3.43 percent three month earlier, the
FSS said.
Shinhan Card Co. posted the largest third-quarter earnings of 234.8 billion won,
followed by Samsung Card Co. with 100.7 billion won, the FSS said.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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