SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' combined net income fell in double digits in the third quarter due to lower interest income, financial watchdog data showed Tuesday.

Preliminary net income of local banks totaled 6.2 trillion won (4.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the July-September quarter, down 13.9 percent from three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

Interest income dwindled 1.9 percent to 14.6 trillion won (10.4 billion dollars) in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter on the back of a shrinking net interest margin that offset higher interest-yielding assets.

The average net interest margin, or difference between interest received and interest paid, continued to retreat from 1.63 percent in the first quarter to 1.60 percent in the second quarter and 1.52 percent in the third quarter.

Non-interest income soared 50.9 percent over the quarter to 2.3 trillion won (1.6 billion dollars) in the third quarter.

The double-digit growth was attributed to lower market rates that expanded securities income.

Loan-loss expenses jumped 50.6 percent to 2.0 trillion won (1.4 billion dollars), while non-operating loss amounted to 200 billion won (143 million dollars).

Return on assets for domestic banks, or a major gauge of profitability, dipped 0.12 percentage points to 0.65 percent in the third quarter on a quarterly basis, while return on equity went down 1.83 percentage points to 8.55 percent. Enditem

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