Fewer S. Korean banks rank among top 100 global lenders

By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- Fewer South Korean banks ranked among the world's 100
largest lenders in 2008 than the previous year as the local currency's plunge
eroded their capital bases, the central bank said Friday.
In terms of core capital, three local banks ranked among the top 100 global
lenders, compared with five in 2007, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said, citing
London-based magazine The Banker, which has tracked global bank standings based
on equity capital plus retained earnings.
Local top lender Kookmin Bank placed 74th among the world's largest lenders last
year, down from 56th place in 2007. Woori Finance Holdings, the parent of Woori
Bank, slipped to the 82nd position with Shinhan Financial Group, which controls
Shinhan Bank, dropping to the 91st, according to the BOK report.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup) and Hana Financial
Group were elbowed out of the list to 113th and 115th place, respectively.
The drop in local banks' global standings came as a weak Korean currency sharply
reduced their core capital in dollar terms, a BOK official said.
The local unit plummeted 34.5 percent to 1,259.5 won to the dollar as of the end
of 2008 from a year earlier.
The capital adequacy ratio, which measures capital reserves against risk-weighted
assets, of the top 10 local lenders averaged 12.36 percent at the end of 2008, up
from 11.8 percent the previous year, the central bank said.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)