Consumer financing firms in South Korea saw their combined net profit rise 22.2 percent on-year in the first half of the year due to a sharp decline in loan-loss provisions, data showed Monday.

The combined net profit of 110 credit-specialized financial firms stood at 1.33 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in the January-June period, compared with a profit of 1.08 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

Their interest income rose 3.1 percent on-year to 2.8 trillion won in the first half, the data showed.

Loan-loss provisions fell 19.7 percent on-year to 667.5 billion won in the first half, according to the data.

The combined assets of those firms climbed 12.2 percent on-year to 171.2 trillion won at the end of June, the data showed.

The FSS said it will induce consumer financing firms to set aside additional loan-loss provisions to brace for a possible prolonged fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)