Home > Business > Finance

Foreign currency deposits rise for first time in 4 months in May: BOK

Published: 23 Jun. 2025, 15:58

An official checks banknotes at a bank branch of Hana Bank in central Seoul on on June 5. [YONHAP]

Foreign currency deposits in Korea increased for the first time in four months in May, driven by increased deposits at securities firms and the temporary placement of corporate overseas investment funds, central bank data showed Monday.

Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents stood at $101.36 billion as of end-May, up $5.1 billion from a month earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the first on-month increase since January.

Residents include Korean citizens, foreigners who have resided in the country for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits.

Corporate foreign currency deposits rose by $4.6 billion on-month to $87.01 billion, while individual holdings increased by $500 million to $14.35 billion.

By currency, dollar-denominated deposits climbed by $4.54 billion to $85.54 billion, driven by a rise in investor deposits at securities firms and the temporary placement of overseas investment funds by some companies, the BOK said.

Euro-denominated deposits remained nearly unchanged at $5.09 billion.

Japanese yen-denominated deposits increased $560 million to $8.43 billion, while Chinese yuan-denominated deposits fell $190 million to $980 million, mainly due to payments for current transactions, according to the central bank.

Yonhap