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Bank of Korea: corporate spare cash hits record 67.1trn won on chip boom
Коротко
The Bank of Korea said non-financial companies' net financial surplus reached a record 67.1 trillion won in the second quarter of 2026, driven by a semiconductor-driven surge in operating profits. Households' surplus fell to 60.7 trillion won and the household debt-to-GDP ratio dropped to 81.1%, the lowest in ten years. The central bank published the figures in its quarterly flow-of-funds release on October 7.
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South Korea's non-financial companies held a record amount of spare cash in the second quarter of 2026, as a semiconductor-driven rise in operating profits pushed their net financial surplus to 67.1 trillion won, the Bank of Korea said on October 7 in its provisional flow-of-funds statistics. That was up 46.3 trillion won from 20.8 trillion won in the first quarter, which had itself been the previous record, and is the largest figure since the statistics were first compiled in 2009. [ 1 , 4 ]
The central bank attributed the increase to the chip cycle. “Following the previous quarter, the surge in operating profits due to favourable semiconductor conditions generated a large volume of spare cash at non-financial companies,” Kim Yong-hyun, head of the Bank of Korea's flow-of-funds team, said. One outlet also cited him saying that listed companies' net income rose from 111 trillion won in the first quarter to 189 trillion won in the second, driven by semiconductor firms. Corporate fund management nearly doubled to 267.1 trillion won from 137 trillion won, also a record since 2009, while fundraising rose to 200 trillion won from 116.2 trillion won, the highest since the second quarter of 2021. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
Households moved the other way. The net financial surplus of households and non-profit organisations fell to 60.7 trillion won from 79.2 trillion won in the first quarter, a drop of 18.5 trillion won, which the central bank linked to lower income and increased net home purchases. Household fund management excluding borrowing fell to 88.5 trillion won from 96.3 trillion won: holdings of equities and investment funds rose to 101.6 trillion won from 61.4 trillion won, but deposits at financial institutions swung to minus 23.3 trillion won from plus 29.4 trillion won. Household fundraising rose to 27.8 trillion won from 17.1 trillion won, with bank loans up 28.8 trillion won from 16 trillion won. [ 1 , 4 ]
The household debt-to-GDP ratio fell to 81.1% at the end of the second quarter from 85.3% three months earlier, a 4.2 percentage point drop and the lowest level since 80.2% in the second quarter of 2016. One outlet noted that the government had set a goal of bringing the ratio down to around 80% by 2030. Kim said nominal GDP rose 6.2% quarter on quarter on semiconductor exports while household debt rose 1.1% under government loan regulations. [ 1 , 4 ]
The general government sector swung to net lending of 11.1 trillion won from net borrowing of 23.3 trillion won in the first quarter, as fundraising through government bond issuance and borrowing from financial institutions fell 35.1 trillion won to 34.6 trillion won. The external sector's net borrowing rose 63.5 trillion won to 147.8 trillion won, which the central bank linked to a wider current-account surplus. [ 1 ]
The accounts are the central bank's measure of how much cash each part of the economy has left after borrowing, with households normally supplying funds and companies and the government normally raising them. [ 1 , 4 ]
Почему это важно
The figures are the central bank's clearest snapshot yet of how the semiconductor upswing is shifting cash from households to companies, and they show the government's 2030 target for household debt already close to being met. For readers outside Korea, the data is a read on the chip cycle's effect on a major exporting economy.
Ключевые факты
- The Bank of Korea published its provisional second-quarter 2026 flow-of-funds statistics on October 7. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Non-financial companies' net financial surplus was 67.1 trillion won in the second quarter, the largest since the statistics began in 2009. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- That was up 46.3 trillion won from 20.8 trillion won in the first quarter, when the previous record was set. [ 1 , 4 ]
- A Bank of Korea official attributed the increase to surging operating profits on the semiconductor upswing. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- Households and non-profit organisations recorded a net financial surplus of 60.7 trillion won, down 18.5 trillion won from 79.2 trillion won in the first quarter. [ 1 , 4 ]
- The household debt-to-GDP ratio fell 4.2 percentage points to 81.1% at the end of the second quarter, from 85.3%. [ 1 , 4 ]
- The general government sector moved to net lending of 11.1 trillion won from net borrowing of 23.3 trillion won in the first quarter. [ 1 ]
- The external sector's net borrowing was 147.8 trillion won, up 63.5 trillion won from the previous quarter. [ 1 ]
Подтверждено несколькими источниками
- The Bank of Korea released second-quarter 2026 flow-of-funds data on October 7. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Non-financial companies' net financial surplus reached 67.1 trillion won in the second quarter, a record since the statistics began in 2009, outpacing the first-quarter record. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Bank of Korea attributed the rise in corporate spare cash to a semiconductor-driven jump in operating profits. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The household debt-to-GDP ratio was 81.1% at the end of the second quarter, down 4.2 percentage points from 85.3% in the first quarter. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Households and non-profit organisations' net financial surplus fell to 60.7 trillion won from 79.2 trillion won a quarter earlier. [ 1 , 4 ]
Пока неясно
- Whether 67.1 trillion won was the second-quarter surplus or the increase over the first quarter. One outlet described 67.1 trillion won as an increase of that size from the previous quarter, while two others described it as the second-quarter level, up 46.3 trillion won from 20.8 trillion won.
- The exact wording and period labelling of the domestic sector aggregate. One document's opening passage heading says “first quarter” while citing a 147.8 trillion won figure compared with 84.3 trillion won, so the reference period is ambiguous.
- Listed companies' net income of 111 trillion won in the first quarter and 189 trillion won in the second quarter. These figures appear in only one document.