South Korean brokerage firms saw their combined net profit jump 20.8 percent last year, thanks to a stock rally that helped them earn higher commission fees, data showed Monday.

The combined net profit of 57 brokerages stood at 5.91 trillion won ($5.2 billion) in 2020, compared with a profit of 4.89 trillion won in 2019, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.

The combined brokerage fees stood at 13.6 trillion won in 2020, up 43.8 percent from a year ago.

The brokerages posted a combined loss of 2.1 trillion won in derivative-related products last year, in the third quarter, compared with a loss of 3.3 trillion won in 2019.

At the end of last year, the combined assets of 57 brokerages stood at 608.8 trillion won, up 26.1 percent from the end of 2019, according to the data. (Yonhap)