SEOUL, March 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' loan delinquency ratio rebounded in January owing to more new delinquent loans than bad loan settlements, financial watchdog data showed Friday.

The ratio of bank loans, at least one month overdue, to the total gained 0.06 percentage points from a month earlier to 0.56 percent at the end of January, turning around from a decrease of 0.10 percentage points in the prior month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

New delinquent loans reached 2.8 trillion won (1.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the cited month, larger than the settlement of non-performing loans worth 1.3 trillion won (866.6 million dollars).

The delinquency ratio has roughly been on the rise after hitting a bottom of 0.20 percent in June 2022 on the back of lingering uncertainties over massive household debt.

Excluding the settled bad loans, the delinquency ratio for fresh bank loans was 0.11 percent in January, up from 0.10 percent in the previous month.

The delinquency ratio for bank corporate loans increased 0.08 percentage points from a month earlier to 0.67 percent at the end of January, while the ratio for household loans gained 0.04 percentage points to 0.42 percent. ■