Seoul: The delinquency rate on loans extended by local banks fell in December, data showed Tuesday. The delinquency rate on banks' won-denominated loans came to 0.50 percent in December, down 0.01 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

According to Yonhap News Agency, the amount of newly delinquent loans reached 2.4 trillion won (US$1.66 billion) in December, marking a decrease of 0.2 trillion won from the previous month. Meanwhile, the amount of write-offs of bad loans stood at 5.1 trillion won in the month, which was an increase of 3.2 trillion won over the cited period.

The data further revealed that the delinquency rate on corporate loans was 0.59 percent in December, showing a decline of 0.14 percentage point from a month before. However, the rate on household loans saw a rise, increasing by 0.06 percentage point to 0.38 percent over the cited period, as reported by the FSS.