Resident Foreign Currency Deposits Rise $14.09 Billion in September, Up for Sixth Straight Month on Corporate Deposits

Bank of Korea: "Trends in Foreign Currency Deposits of Residents in September 2026"

Resident foreign currency deposits in Korea rose by more than $14 billion in September, driven mainly by U.S. dollar and corporate deposits, marking their sixth consecutive monthly increase.

According to the Bank of Korea's report on resident foreign currency deposits for September 2026, released on October 28, deposits held by residents at foreign exchange banks in Korea totaled $154.71 billion at the end of September, up $14.09 billion from the previous month.

Resident foreign currency deposits refer to foreign currency deposits in Korea held by Korean nationals, domestic companies, foreigners who have lived in Korea for at least six months, and foreign companies operating in Korea.

Resident foreign currency deposits rose by $15.88 billion in December last year, their largest increase since statistics began in 2012. They then declined from January through March this year before resuming their upward trend in April, which continued for six consecutive months. The latest increase was somewhat smaller than the $15.01 billion rise in July, but deposits have now increased by more than $10 billion for three consecutive months.

Among currencies, U.S. dollar deposits rose sharply, leading the overall increase. They totaled $132.9 billion, up $12.99 billion from the end of the previous month.

A Bank of Korea official said, "Dollar deposits increased due to receipts by large companies from current transactions, inflows of investor deposits at securities firms, and funds raised by public corporations through foreign currency bond issuance." Corporate dollar deposits rose by $12.23 billion from the end of the previous month to $117.87 billion.

Euro deposits rose by $370 million from the end of the previous month to $9.53 billion, driven by receipts from current transactions. Yen deposits increased by $550 million to $9.49 billion, as the yen's weakness led to more currency exchanges for travel.

By depositor, corporate deposits increased by $13.11 billion to $136.6 billion. Personal deposits rose by $980 million to $18.11 billion.

By bank type, domestic banks' deposits increased by $9.18 billion to $120.04 billion, while deposits at branches of foreign banks rose by $4.91 billion to $34.67 billion.

Yonhap News Agency

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.