SEOUL-- The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) said Monday its earnings increased more than 11 percent in the first quarter of 2022 from a year earlier on the back of lending growth.

Consolidated net profit stood at 659.7 won (US$527 million) in the January-March period, up 11.4 percent from a year earlier, the lender said in a regulatory filing.

Operating income expanded 9 percent on-year to 850.6 billion won, with revenue climbing 5.2 percent to 6.03 trillion won.

IBK's first-quarter earnings met market expectations. The median estimate of net profit stood at 654.2 billion won for the last quarter, according to a survey of analysts by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

The bank said its first-quarter bottom line improved as it extended more loans to help small and medium enterprises and pandemic-hit merchants overcome the fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.

The lender's outstanding loans to smaller firms reached 209.3 trillion won as of end-March, up 2.6 percent from three month earlier.

IBK's ratio of non-performing loans amounted to 0.81 percent at the end of March, down 0.24 percentage points from a year earlier.

The bank also said the combined net profit of its subsidiaries came to 90.2 billion won in the first quarter, up 0.4 percent from the same period a year earlier.

On Monday, IBK shares ended 0.43 percent lower at 11,550 won, compared with the broader KOSPI's 1.76 percent loss.

Source: Yonhap News Agency