Watchdog frets over Hana head’s refusal to resign

The Financial Supervisory Service and Hana Bank chief Kim Jong-jun appeared to be in a rare tug-of-war over whether the latter should leave his post over a scandal involving his past misdemeanors. On Tuesday, industry sources said that the FSS had threatened to air Kim’s dirty laundry ― his involvement in an ill-advised loan granted by Hana Capital to an ailing savings bank ― to facilitate an ouster.The FSS has already issued a heavy penalty on Kim banning him from working at financial instituti

April 22, 2014

Idle money hits record high on sluggish stocks, housing prices

Investors are increasingly managing their money on a short-term basis on a lack of investment destinations that promise decent returns amid a bearish run on the local stock market and housing prices, data showed Tuesday.The country’s short-term funds, including currency in circulation, all financial products with a maturity of less than six months and money parked for stock investment, amounted to a record 715.9 trillion won ($689.2 billion) as of April 15.The figure reflects a 10 trillion won i

April 22, 2014

KDB denies undue favors in Sewol loan

The state-run Korea Development Bank on Monday denied speculations by local media that it granted an over-the-limit loan to Chonghaejin Marine Co., the operator of the sunken ferry Sewol.Seoul Shinmun and Kyunghyang Shinmun said on Sunday that KDB had overestimated the security value of the aging ferry when it granted a 10 billion won ($9.6 million) loan to the financially pressed marine company in 2012. On Monday, Yonhap reported that Chonghaejin Marine Co. misrepresented the condition of the f

April 21, 2014

Korean firms’ dividend yield ratio hits 3-year low: data

Dividend payouts by South Korean listed firms to investors remained poor last year, with their dividend yield ratio hitting the lowest level in 3 years, data showed Monday.The average dividend yield ratio of listed firms that closed their books on Dec. 31 came to 1.14 percent in 2013, marking the lowest tally since 2010, when the comparable figure was 1.12 percent, according to data compiled by Daishin Securities.The dividend yield ratio refers to a company’s annual dividend payments per share d

April 21, 2014

Savings banks to lower bad loan ratio over three years

South Korea’s savings banks aim to nearly halve the ratio of their bad loans to their total lending by 2016 as a reactionary measure to massive bankruptcies just a few years ago, the financial watchdog said Monday.The Financial Supervisory Service had ordered 88 local savings banks in February to submit plans on how they would lower the bad loan ratios over the three years starting this year in order to improve the financial health of the secondary lenders.The average bad loan ratio of the savin

April 21, 2014

U.S., Europe top foreign investors in Korea last year

Foreign investment in South Korea rose 3.8 percent last year, led by U.S. and European investors who mostly increased their purchase of local stocks and bonds, the central bank said Monday. Outstanding foreign investment in Asia’s fourth-largest economy amounted to a record $991 billion as of the end of 2013, compared with $954.7 billion the previous year, according to data by the Bank of Korea.The data covered foreigners’ direct investment, portfolios and other types of investment.Foreigners’ d

April 21, 2014

Shares to gain more steam

South Korean stocks are expected to be bullish this week on hopes of improved first-quarter corporate earnings, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 2,004.28 on Friday, up 0.34 percent, or 6.84 points, from a week earlier. The KOSPI broke the 2,000-mark for the first time in five sessions since April 10 when it hit 2,008.61.The bullish market stemmed from optimistic forecasts for the first-quarter earnings results slated to be out from this week. An

April 20, 2014

Shinhan staff illicitly access customers’ data

The financial regulator said Friday that Shinhan Bank employees had engaged in unauthorized access to customers’ accounts about 100 times.“Some bank employees were found to have inquired into accounts of individual customers including their families, which is a breach of banking regulatory rules,” said an official of the Financial Supervisory Service.He said there were more than 100 instances of irregular access at Shinhan Bank, adding that rule-violators would be subject to sanctions.The miscon

April 18, 2014

IMF says Korean currency should be further appreciated

The South Korean currency is undervalued in the range of 2 percent to 8 percent, theInternational Monetary Fund said in its latest report, encouraging further appreciation of the won over the medium term.The IMF report dated Thursday said the won remained moderately undervalued by as much as 8 percent, with the upper end of the range seeming more plausible given the current account surplus run."Staff analysis, based on estimates of the rise in reserves unexplained by interest income and spikes i

April 18, 2014

Shares end little changed

After moving in a tight range, South Korean stocks finished slightly lower on Thursday as investors took to the sidelines on a lack of leads prodding them to buy, analysts said. The South Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.16 points, or 0.01 percent, to 1,992.05. Trading volume was light at 195.69 million shares worth 2.86 trillion won ($2.8 billion), with gainers leading losers 400 to 377.The market started higher on the back of strong

April 17, 2014

S. Korean financial firms vulnerable to security breaches: regulator

  Some South Korean financial firms may be vulnerable to security breaches because they use an open source operating protocol that can expose customers' passwords and encryption keys, local regulators said Wednesday.   The Financial Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), which assesses the security systems of local firms, said it found weaknesses in 12 of the 142 financial institutions assessed.    Of the 12, 10 reported taking steps to rectify the problem, with two vowing to fix the we

April 16, 2014

Arrest warrant sought for former Lotte Homeshopping chief

  Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant Wednesday for a former head of television-based retailer Lotte Homeshopping Co. on charges of receiving kickbacks from suppliers.   After summoning Shin Heon for questioning earlier in the week, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office asked a Seoul court to issue the warrant for further questioning.   Shin, who headed the retailer from 2008 to 2012, now serves as chief executive of the country's largest department store chain, Lotte Shopping.   The p

April 16, 2014

Government to speed up spending to stimulate economy

The South Korean government will speed up its scheduled spending in the first half of 2014 as part of efforts to revitalize the country’s economy, the finance minister said Wednesday.In a meeting with economy-related ministers in Seoul, Hyun Oh-seok said the government will front-load 60 percent of its annual spending in the first half.“We need to make continuous efforts (to revamp the economy) as the economic recovery in the private sector, such as investment, has yet to reach its full speed,”

April 16, 2014