A man passes by a savings bank in Seoul, May 1, 2023. Yonhap

Savings banks in Korea suffered a net loss for the second consecutive year in 2024, and their asset quality worsened amid rising soured loans, data showed Friday.

The banks posted a combined net loss of 397 billion won ($273 million) last year following a loss of 576 billion won the previous year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.

The watchdog said their losses narrowed on the back of a rise in interest income and decreased reserves against soured loans.

Savings banks recently have suffered net losses, primarily due to risky short-term real estate project financing loans.

Their average delinquency ratio rose to 8.52 percent last year from the previous year's 6.55 percent, with that on corporate loans spiking to 12.81 percent from 8.02 percent over the cited period, the data showed.

The savings banks' average capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.02 percent last year, well above the required level of 7 percent. (Yonhap)