Korean securities firms saw their combined net profit rise last year, fueled by higher fees from brokerage commission and investment banking services, data showed on March 5.

The combined net profit of 56 brokerages stood at 4.17 trillion won (US$3.70 billion) in 2018, up 9.6 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.

Brokerage commission fees rose 12.9 percent on-year to 4.5 trillion won last year.

Fees from investment banking services climbed 17.4 percent on-year to 2.6 trillion won in 2018, the data showed.

The securities firms saw their combined return on equity in 2018 rise 0.1 percentage point to 7.7 percent.

At the end of last year, the combined assets of 56 brokerages stood at 439 trillion won, up 12.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)