Kookmin Bank, South Korea’s biggest lender, on Monday reported a 14 per cent rise in third-quarter earnings, helped by increased corporate loans and a stake sale in a life insurance venture.

The bank reported net profit of Won775bn in the July-September period, compared with Won678bn a year ago. Kookmin made a Won194bn profit last month by selling a 5.1 per cent stake in ING Life Insurance back to ING Groep, helping lift results above analysts’ expectations.