The loan delinquency ratio for South Korean insurance firms edged down in June from a month earlier on decreases in both overdue corporate and household debts, the financial watchdog said Friday.

The average bad debt ratio of local life and nonlife insurers stood at 0.53 percent at the end of June, down 0.08 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

Compared with a year earlier, the figure declined 0.19 percentage point, it added.

A delinquent loan is a debt at least a month in arrears in interest and principal payments.

The FSS said the drop in the ratio for corporate and household loans contributed to the overall ratio decrease in June.

The delinquency ratio for corporate loans fell 0.16 percentage point to 0.67 percent as of end-June, while the overdue household loans’ ratio reached 0.46 percent, down 0.03 percentage point from a month earlier. (Yonhap)