South Korean banks saw their average capital adequacy ratio fall slightly in the first quarter from the previous quarter, data showed Monday.

The average capital adequacy ratio of 19 commercial and state-run banks stood at 14.72 percent as of the end of March, down 0.54 percentage point from the end of December, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

A key barometer of financial soundness, the ratio measures the proportion of a bank's capital to its risk-weighted credit.

The Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an international organization of central banks, requires lenders to maintain a ratio of 8 percent or higher.

At the end of March, Citibank Korea Inc. posted the highest capital adequacy ratio among banks in South Korea at 18.44 percent, while that of two internet-only banks -- K-Bank and Kakao Bank -- stood at 11.14 percent and 14.29 percent, respectively. (Yonhap)