Sharp Drop in Profits Noted By Brokers, Asset Managers

Korea's stock brokerage firms and asset management companies saw their profits plunge last year due largely to the stock market's slump and the surge in online stock trading, the Financial Supervisory Service said Wednesday.

The financial agency said that 43 domestic securities companies posted a combined pre-tax net profit of 114 billion won ($89.6 million) for the nine months ending Dec. 31 of last year, compared with5.25 trillion won for the same period a year earlier.

Twenty-six brokerage houses saw black ink during the April-December period, while 17 were in the red, the agency said.

Samsung Securities Co. was the most profitable with 149.7 billion won in pre-tax net income, followed by Daewoo Securities Co. with 109.6 billion won. In contrast, Dongwon Securities Co. was the worst performer, incurring a net loss of 100.6 billion won.

"The depressed stock market caused a decline in turnover," a regulator at the watchdog said. "In addition, 62.9 percent of total transactions were made on line, up from 38.3 percent a year earlier, and that led to a sharp drop in commission incomes."

Some 27 investment trust management firms also reported that their profits plummeted 53.6 percent during the same period.

by Kim Hyun-chul