SC First Bank, non-interest income increased but net profit decreased by 6.3% in the first quarter

Standard Chartered Korea First Bank’s first-quarter 2026 performance was affected by a decrease in interest income, showing a decline compared to the same period last year, but growth in the asset management sector and stable capital soundness partially offset this loss.

According to the operating results announced by Standard Chartered Korea First Bank on the 15th, net profit for the first quarter of this year was 104.9 billion won, down 7 billion won from 111.9 billion won in the same period last year, a decrease of 6.30%. Operating profit was 136.3 billion won, a decrease of 300 million won from a year earlier, a decline of 0.20%. Interest income, the core source of revenue, was 291.5 billion won, down 15.8 billion won from 307.3 billion won in the first quarter of last year, a decrease of 5.10%.

The main reason for the decrease in interest income is the decline in net interest margin. Net interest margin reflects the bank’s profitability from asset operations such as the interest spread on deposits and loans. Even if the loan scale expands, a decline in this figure can lead to a reduction in total interest income. In fact, as of the end of the first quarter, Standard Chartered Korea First Bank’s total loans amounted to 43.7363 trillion won, an increase of 957.9 billion won from the same period last year, a growth of 2.20%, but the net interest margin decreased from 1.53% to 1.30%, a drop of 0.23 percentage points. This is interpreted as a combined effect of recent market interest rates, financing costs, and loan interest rate competition impacting the bank’s profitability.

In contrast, non-interest income grew significantly. First-quarter non-interest income was 110.1 billion won, up 22.1 billion won from 88 billion won in the same period last year, an increase of 25.10%. This was driven by an increase in high-net-worth clients, boosting performance in the asset management sector. In banking, when interest rate fluctuations make it difficult to maintain earnings solely through interest spreads, expanding fee-based businesses or asset management services becomes an important strategy. This performance also reflects that trend. However, due to operational cost pressures from rising wages and prices, selling and administrative expenses were 235.5 billion won, an increase of 9.5 billion won from the same period last year, a growth of 4.20%. The bank explained that the labor cost savings from special retirement at the end of last year largely offset the wage increases.

Overall, stability indicators remain at a stable level. The fixed overdue loan ratio is 0.56%, unchanged from the end of December last year; overdue rate increased from 0.36% a year ago to 0.46%, up 0.10 percentage points. The Bank for International Settlements’ total capital ratio at the end of the first quarter was 17.23%, and the common equity capital ratio was 14.86%. Standard Chartered Korea First Bank stated that its loss absorption capacity and capital soundness remain above regulatory standards. This trend indicates that, moving forward, as interest rate environments change and asset management demand expands, the bank’s performance may diverge. If interest income continues to slow, competitiveness in non-interest areas is expected to become a key variable in determining the bank’s profit structure.