The South Korea Financial Supervisory Service published preliminary first-quarter 2026 earnings and balance sheet data for securities companies and futures trading companies. For 61 securities companies, net income rose 77.1% year on year to KRW4.3271 trillion from KRW2.4428 trillion, while return on equity increased to 4.3% from 2.7%. The three futures trading companies posted net income of KRW32.65 billion, up 59.0% from KRW20.53 billion, with return on equity at 4.2%. Securities companies' earnings were driven mainly by commission income, which nearly doubled to KRW6.6929 trillion from KRW3.3646 trillion. Brokerage commissions surged 165.8% to KRW4.3020 trillion, wealth management commissions rose 89.4% to KRW672.1 billion, and investment banking commissions were broadly unchanged at KRW944.5 billion. Proprietary trading income increased 30.8% to KRW4.1026 trillion as higher equities- and funds-related income offset lower bonds- and derivatives-related income. Other assets income fell 15.6% to KRW1.0406 trillion as foreign exchange-related income declined, while loans-related income increased. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose to KRW4.3749 trillion from KRW3.1761 trillion. For futures trading companies, brokerage commissions increased to KRW60.21 billion from KRW39.01 billion and proprietary income rose to KRW7.46 billion from KRW6.05 billion. As of end-March 2026, securities companies' aggregate assets rose 16.3% from end-December 2025 to KRW1,098.4 trillion, liabilities increased 17.8% to KRW991.5 trillion, and shareholders' equity grew 4.4% to KRW106.9 trillion. Their average net capital ratio improved to 999.5% from 914.6%, while the leverage ratio increased to 718.3% from 693.7%. For futures trading companies, aggregate assets rose 44.5% to KRW9.1030 trillion, liabilities increased 50.1% to KRW8.3097 trillion, shareholders' equity grew 3.9% to KRW793.3 billion, and the net capital ratio rose to 1,650.7% from 1,567.1%.

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