Foreign currency deposits at South Korean banks fell in November from a month earlier as local firms withdrew money to pay back bonds, the central bank said Friday.

Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by local residents reached $62.31 billion as of end-November, down $1.09 billion from the previous month when the country had the largest amount of deposits since June, according to the Bank of Korea.

Those holding the deposits include firms and foreign nationals who have stayed in the country for more than six months. The figure excludes inter-bank foreign currency deposits.

U.S. dollar-denominated savings came to $48.62 billion as of the end of last month, snapping up a five-month winning streak, according to the data.

"The fall in dollar deposits is attributable to some public companies' money withdrawal to redeem foreign currency bonds," said BOK official Choi Ji-un.

Chinese yuan-denominated deposits also slipped to $6.56 billion, down by $630 million on-month. The November figure marks the lowest since November 2013, according to the BOK.(Yonhap)