Korean savings banks saw their earnings surge from a year earlier in the second half of 2015 on increased interest earnings while their fiscal soundness also improved, data showed Monday.

According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service, the combined net profit of 79 mutual savings banks here more than doubled to 378.1 billion won ($305.8 million) in the second half of last year from 180.5 billion won the same period in 2014.

The increase was attributed to a surge in interest earnings that more than offset a rise in expenses.

The banks' combined interest earnings jumped over 300 billion won over the cited period to some 1.33 trillion won, while their marketing costs gained 76 billion won to 531.6 billion won, the data showed.

A cut in their delinquency rate also helped improve profitability while also making the banks more fiscally sound.

The average delinquency rate for all loans extended by savings banks came to 9.3 percent at the end of last year, down 2.3 percentage points from 11.6 percent six months earlier.

The average delinquency rate of loans extended to companies came to 11.1 percent, down 3.5 percentage points over the cited period, while that of household loans slipped 0.5 percentage point to 6.9 percent. (Yonhap)