The Bank of Korea says local branches of foreign banks are taking up a larger share on the local currency exchange market.

The central bank said in a report that foreign banks' average daily trading volume last year stood at some 6 billion dollars, accounting for 54 percent of total transactions on the local foreign exchange market. The market posted an average total of 12 billion dollars in trading volume per day last year an increase of 32 percent from 2002.

The central bank said it was the first time in two years for foreign banks to have such a dominating presence in the market. As to reasons for the higher trading volume among foreign banks, the central bank cited increases in handling of direct investments by foreign investment banks.