Shinhan, Korea Exchange Bank Q3 profits soar

Cost-cutting scheme of two banks has been proven effective in reducing bad loans.

"Although they might not be able to show similarly strong results in the fourth quarter, they should be able to maintain the positive momentum as improving interest margins and the fall in provisioning costs are expected to continue," said Daewoo Securities analyst Ku Yong-uk.

Shinhan Bank posted a net profit of 288.8 billion won ($246.240 million) in the third quarter, up from 214.3 billion won ($182.72 million) a year earlier and 202 billion won ($172.22 million) in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Korea Exchange Bank said its third-quarter net profit nearly tripled to 422.1 billion won ($359.86 million) in the three months ended 30 September from 150.9 billion won ($128,64 million) a year earlier, helped by a nonrecurring gain from a tax refund and lower provisioning costs.

KEB said it had a corporate-tax refund gain of 229.6 billion won ($195,74 million) in the third quarter, which was related to a 2007 payment connected to a merger with its credit-card business.