(LEAD) KB Financial Q2 net hits quarterly high on increased interest income

KB Financial Group Inc. on Tuesday reported its second-quarter net income soared 15.5 percent from a year earlier to reach its highest on a quarterly basis on the back of increased interest income, recovering from burdens related to compensation for a mishap in the sales of equity-linked securities. Net profit reached 1.73 trillion won (US$1.25 billion) in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 1.5 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income for the quarter rose to 2.3 trillion won from 2.05 trillion won a year earlier, and revenue rose 25.3 percent on-year to 19.91 trillion won. The financial holding company said interest income rose in the second quarter and costs related to equity-linked securities products tracking Hong Kong's H Index were partly booked as profit following a recovery in the index. In the second quarter, KB Financial reported an interest income of 3.21 trillion won, up 6.5 percent from a year earlier. Non-interest income fell 3.5 p ercent on-year in the second quarter to 1.24 trillion won. In the first half of the year, KB Financial logged a net profit of 2.78 trillion won, down 7.5 percent from a year earlier. The financial holding firm racked up an interest income of 6.36 trillion won in the January-June period, up 9 percent over the cited period. The group's net interest margin, the difference between interest received and paid, came to 2.08 percent in the second quarter, down 3 basis points from a year earlier. The financial holding company said it set aside some 553 billion won in reserves, with its total loan-loss reserves reaching 981 billion won. KB Kookmin Bank's net profit stood at 1.12 trillion won in the second quarter, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier. Source: Yonhap News Agency