South Korean banks saw their combined net profit from overseas operations jump 32.1 percent in the first six months of the year from a year earlier due mainly to a drop in bad debt expenses and a rise in interest income, the financial watchdog said Sunday.
Earnings by 156 overseas units and branches of local lenders stood at US$373.4 million in the January-June period, compared with $282.7 million the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).