The Wall Street Journal-20080205-Kookmin Bank- Profit More Than Doubles As Interest Margins Improve

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Kookmin Bank: Profit More Than Doubles As Interest Margins Improve

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Kookmin Bank said fourth-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, mainly because of a low base effect, with improving interest margins and robust fee income boosting the bottom line. Kookmin, the largest bank in South Korea by assets, sait it had net profit of 551.5 billion won ($584 million) in the quarter, up from 214 billion won. "This is a generally good result, particularly with the net interest margin reversing the previous downward trend, a much- awaited immediate relief, although margin pressure will likely persist for a while," said Kim Jin-Sang, an analyst at Nomura Securities.