The Korea Herald

[Weekender] Experts call for eased regulations

Experts are calling for eased regulations on financial technologies to allow the growth of the local fintech industry. The two most burdensome regulations include the strict separation of commerce and banking, and the prohibition on authenticating consumers through non-face-to-face channels, industry watchers said. The current rule on separation of commerce and banking restricts financial and industrial companies from holding each other’s capital on to prevent conglomerates from controlling bank

Jan. 2, 2015

Financial chiefs hope for better year ahead

Leaders of financial groups pledged to make a fresh start this year through mergers or reforms after going through hard times last year.The banking sector was hit hard by a series of scandals involving customer information leaks, loan fraud and leadership feuds in 2014.The most ambitious New Year’s statement was that of Hong Ky-ttack, chairman of the new integrated Korea Development Bank Group.“Being the state’s representative policy organization, the new integrated KDB will actively perform its

Jan. 2, 2015

Financial chiefs hope for better year ahead

Choi pledges economic reforms

South Korea’s finance minister on Friday urged policymakers to stay firmly on course to implement sweeping reforms to lay the foundation for the country’s sustainable growth and prosperity.In a meeting with ministry staff to mark the start of the new year, Choi Kyung-hwan said the early passage of this year’s budget, an agreement by lawmakers to reform the government employee pension program and the absence of major elections provide positive conditions to push for meaningful change.“The new yea

Jan. 2, 2015

Finance minister stresses reforms in 2015

South Korea's finance minister on Friday urged policymakers to stay firmly on course to implement sweeping reforms to lay the foundation for the country's sustainable growth and prosperity.In a meeting with ministry staff to mark the start of the new year, Choi Kyung-hwan said the early passage of this year's budget, an agreement by lawmakers to reform the government employee pension program and the absence of major elections provide positive conditions to push for meaningful change."The new yea

Jan. 2, 2015

Inflation holds at 1.3 percent in 2014

South Korea’s consumer inflation rate was 1.3 percent last year, the same pace as in 2012, according to government data released on Wednesday. The figure was 1 percentage point below the Finance Ministry’s forecast of 2.3 percent at the end of 2013. December’s price index rose 0.8 percent on-year, the lowest on-year growth in 15 years. “The drop in oil prices has pushed the nation’s inflation rate to a zero percent level, putting downward pressure on prices for the time being,” said Kim Bo-kyung

Jan. 1, 2015

Banks’ loan delinquency rate stays nearly flat in November

The delinquency rate on loans extended by South Korean banks remained nearly flat in November from the previous month, the financial watchdog said Thursday.The average delinquency rate for bank loans stood at 0.89 percent at the end of November, down 0.01 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The amount of cleared bad debts, worth 1.6 trillion won ($1.47 billion), was balanced with the same quantity of fresh bad loans during November.The overdue ra

Jan. 1, 2015

Banking service for 2G phones valid until year-end

Users of second-generation mobile phones will be given a one-year grace period to access virtual machine banking services to refer to their details of use and perform banking functions.Late last year, mobile carriers announced that they would terminate the VM banking service within the year due to low profits, but decided to hold off on pulling the plug until December this year, consenting to the arbitration of the Financial Supervisory Service.The VM banking service kicked off back in 2007 in o

Jan. 1, 2015

Financial regulator vows to control household debt

South Korea's chief financial regulator said Thursday that he will place tackling household debts on the front burner of the government policies next year along with economic reform to improve the fundamentals of the economy and sharpen competitiveness. "Restructuring of household debt is a top priority for financial stability in 2015," Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Shin Je-yoon said in a New Year's message. "We've set 2015 policy guidelines in order to improve the quality of ho

Jan. 1, 2015

Mixed views on Korean economy in 2015

The South Korean government’s forecasts for this year’s economic indices appeared to be sanguine, perhaps too much so, according to critics. In December, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in its economic forecast report that the nation’s economy would grow by 3.8 percent in 2015, while exports and imports were expected to rise 3.7 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.Private think tanks and global financial institutes believe the government is being too optimistic, and are calling for m

Dec. 31, 2014

Banks pressed to regain trust

The coming year is shaping up to be a challenging one for South Korean financial institutions, which face a series of penalties for loan and accounting fraud, as well as pressure to find new business models in the financial technology sector.Local banks, for instance, are expected to begin the year with hundreds of administrators and employees receiving sanctions for their irregularities. The Financial Supervisory Service is poised to take disciplinary action in the next two months against offic

Dec. 31, 2014

S. Korean inflation slows in December

SEOUL (AFP) -- South Korea's inflation rate hit its lowest point for 14 months in December, reflecting plunging oil prices, state data showed Wednesday.Consumer prices in December rose 0.8 percent from a year ago, slowing from 1.0 percent growth in November, according to state-run Statistics Korea. This marked the lowest gain since October 2013 when consumer prices rose 0.9 percent.Consumer prices for the whole of 2014 rose 1.3 percent after growing at the same pace in 2013.Inflation has rem

Dec. 31, 2014

Number of stock trading accounts hits all-time high

The number of stock trading accounts at local brokerage houses reached a historic high this year as more retail investors opened new accounts ahead of big initial public offerings (IPOs), data showed Wednesday.The accounts that have been used for stock transactions over the past six months increased to 20.97 million as of Dec. 26, according to data by the Korea Financial Investment Association (KFIA).Active trading accounts first surpassed 10 million in July 2007 and reached over 20 million in M

Dec. 31, 2014

New Woori Bank chief targets privatization

Woori Bank chief Lee Kwang-goo (Woori Bank)The newly minted chief of Woori Bank said on Tuesday that he would step up his efforts to privatize the bank during his term. 　He also said the bank would strengthen its digital business that includes the Internet bank -- an online bank dealing with lending activities and money transfers. 　“To help achieve privatization, Woori Bank plans to improve its sales capacity and maximize its business value,” Lee Kwang-goo, the new chief of Woori Bank, told repo

Dec. 30, 2014

New Woori Bank chief targets privatization

Bank lending rates hit new low in Nov.

Bank lending rates for new loans in South Korea dropped to a record low last month, with the pace of decline slightly slowing from October, central bank data showed Tuesday. The average rate for new loans to households, companies and other organizations reached 3.88 percent in November, down 0.12 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marks the lowest level since the central bank began compiling the data in 1996. In October, the figure slumped 0.14

Dec. 30, 2014

Hana Financial appoints new chief execs

Hana Financial Group, the nation’s second-largest banking group by assets, restructured its senior executive board to prepare for the imminent merger of its flagship banks Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank.On Sunday, the group said it had conducted its regular year-end personnel appointments of its 39 executive members.“We have minimized the range of top-level promotions so as to reduce the possible confusion in the run-up to the merger,” a spokesperson of Hana Financial Group said.The group is

Dec. 28, 2014

Foreign net buying of local stocks nearly doubles in 2014

Foreign investors’ net purchases of South Korean stocks nearly doubled in 2014 from the previous year thanks to ample liquidity in the United States and other major economies, data showed Sunday.Offshore investors bought a net 8.21 trillion won ($7.47 billion) worth of local stocks in the first 11 months of this year, 1.7 times the 4.72 trillion won recorded for the whole of 2013, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. It marks the third consecutive year that foreigners have

Dec. 28, 2014

Personal bailouts set to reach record high

The number of filings for personal bailouts in South Korea reached a record high in the first 11 months of this year with the full-year figure also expected to hit an all-time high, market watchers said Sunday.In the January-November period, 101,728 people sought a state-managed bailout, up 5.5 percent from the same period last year.The market observers said the number would likely top the annual high of 105,885 set in 2013.The number has been increasing steadily since 46,972 in 2010 to 65,171 i

Dec. 28, 2014

FSC gives nod to KB’s acquisition of LIG Insurance

The Financial Services Commission on Wednesday approved KB Financial Group’s acquisition of LIG Insurance, six months after the group embarked on plans to beef up its nonbanking business segments. By taking over the insurer, KB is expected to regain its status as the country’s leading financial group with assets worth 423 trillion won ($383 billion). Currently, it has some 399.3 trillion won. Shinhan Financial Group will be pushed down to second place with 401 trillion won. The regulator, howeve

Dec. 25, 2014

KDB unveils digital magazine system

The state-run Korea Development Bank said on Thursday it had set up a new digital system for its company magazine for the first time in the local financial industry.The bank said the system would enable users to more conveniently access its content on various digital devices such as computers, smartphones and tablets in a unified form. The bank added that it was an upgraded version of conventional systems that only allow access to content on the website. Using EPUB 3.0, or electronics publicatio

Dec. 25, 2014

KB Financial gets nod for non-life insurer takeover

South Korea's financial regulator approved a deal on Wednesday for KB Financial Group Co. to take over a local non-life insurer, paving the way for the country's second-largest banking group to beef up its non-banking business.The Financial Services Commission gave the final nod for KB Financial to acquire LIG Insurance Co., the country's 4th-largest non-life insurance company as the internal feud-tarnished banking group is struggling to reshape its business portfolio.Shares of KB Financial clos

Dec. 24, 2014