The net profit of South Korea’s 20 largest savings banks by assets reached 574.6 billion Korean won in the first half of the year, up 394 billion won, or 218%, from 180.6 billion won a year earlier and more than triple the previous result. The improvement was driven by lower provisions for real estate project financing (PF) and higher gains on marketable securities, while lending activity remained broadly flat. OK Savings Bank led with 229.1 billion won in net profit, followed by Korea Investment Savings Bank with 153 billion won, Welcome Savings Bank with 87.3 billion won, SBI Savings Bank with 37.6 billion won and DB Savings Bank with 13.8 billion won. OK Savings Bank and Korea Investment Savings Bank together generated 66.5% of the group’s total profit, showing that the recovery was concentrated among several large institutions. The average liquidity ratio, which measures immediately liquid assets against debt and deposits due within three months, stood at 129.18% in the second quarter, down from 165.48% a year earlier but still above the financial authorities’ regulatory threshold of more than 100%. Industry sources attributed the decline to the normalization of liquidity accumulated after the 2022 Legoland incident rather than to a new risk signal. Korea Investment Savings Bank’s ratio fell from 240.75% at the end of June last year to 140.83% at the end of June this year. Despite the stronger earnings, outstanding loans at the top 20 banks totaled 68.2124 trillion Korean won in the second quarter, an increase of only 228.5 billion won, or 0.3%, from a year earlier. The Financial Supervisory Service excluded the entire increase in mid-interest-rate loans from household-loan total management starting last month, but savings banks have remained cautious about expanding lending amid concerns over rising delinquency rates.