SEOUL, March 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' capital adequacy ratio rose last year on the back of faster growth in capital than risk-weighted assets, financial watchdog data showed Friday.

The total capital ratio for 28 banks, bank holding companies and internet-only banks under the Bank for International Settlements framework averaged 15.66 percent at the end of 2023, up 0.37 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The ratio, a barometer of financial soundness, measures the proportion of a bank's capital to its risk-weighted assets. Banks are required to maintain the ratio above 10.5 percent.

The FSS noted that banks' capital grew faster than their risk-weighted assets due to expanded net profit, caused by an increase in both interest and non-interest incomes.

The tier-1 capital ratio, which gauges common stock capital and retained earnings, advanced 0.38 percentage points from a year earlier to 14.29 percent at the end of 2023.

The common equity tier-1 capital ratio, or the proportion of common equity to risk-weighted assets, picked up 0.40 percentage points to 13.01 percent in the cited year.

Banks are required to keep the tier-1 and the common equity tier-1 capital ratios above 8.5 percent and 7.0 percent each. Enditem

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