S. Korean banks repay foreign debts in September

SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks repaid foreign debts last month as local lenders held sufficient foreign currency liquidity secured in advance through long-term borrowing, the financial watchdog said Sunday.

The rollover rate of short-term foreign debts with a maturity of less than one year at 16 local banks came in at 91 percent in September, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The rollover rate gauges the percentage of fresh overseas borrowing against foreign debts that mature within the month. The rate below 100 percent means local lenders repaid maturing debts rather than refinancing them.

Domestic banks continued to reduce their short-term foreign borrowing this year by securing long-term foreign currency liquidity earlier in preparation for the potential external shocks.

The refinancing rate of long-term external debts that mature in one year or more at 12 domestic banks, excluding regional banks, reached 97.8 percent in September, according to the FSS. The figure was sharply down from 437 percent in August. Enditem

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