Bank workers strike against merit pay system

Unionized bank employees staged an industry-wide strike Friday to protest against a plan to introduce a performance-based salary system.Banking sources said fewer than expected bank workers took part in the protest, leading to no major disruptions of banking operations nationwide.According to an estimate by the Financial Supervisory Service, as of noon, about 18,000 to 20,000 members of the Korean Financial Industry Union gathered at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong, Seoul, in protest

Sept. 23, 2016

18 investors bid for Woori Bank stakes

A total of 18 institutional investors submitted letters of intent to buy splinter stakes in Woori Bank in preliminary bidding on Friday, boosting the chance of success of the government’s fifth attempt to privatize the state-owned bank, officials said. According to the Financial Services Commission, the investors including private equity funds handed in the documents to the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. as of 5 p.m.  The number was far higher than had been expected in the financial market.Woori

Sept. 23, 2016

Hanwha Life serves society’s marginalized through CSR

In carrying out corporate social responsibility programs, Hanwha Life Insurance sticks to this principle: It should serve marginalized individuals in society and cultivate a true spirit of caring among employees. Leading the insurer’s corporate social responsibility efforts are the Hanwha Life Volunteer Corps set up in 2004. Comprised of 144 units in seven provincial divisions and the Seoul headquarters, the volunteer corps work to realize their vision of protecting everyone’s life and respectin

Sept. 22, 2016

Korean stock market shows ‘relief rally’ at US rate freeze

A sigh of relief was heard in the South Korean stock market on Thursday as investors here hold onto expectations that Korea could have another rate cut within the year after the US Federal Reserve decided to keep its fund rates at least until before December. The news of a rate freeze at the current range of 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent by the Federal Open Market Meeting in Washington arrived in Seoul early Thursday, sending its benchmark securities index to near the 2,060 mark thanks to a buyin

Sept. 22, 2016

Eximbank finances Turkish hospital project

The Export-Import Bank of Korea has provided 143 million euros ($159 million) in direct loans and loan guarantees for a hospital construction project led by Samsung C&T in Turkey, the state-run lender said Wednesday. This is the first time that the Seoul-based bank has financed an overseas hospital construction project, it said in a press statement. The Turkish government-initiated project envisions a 1,875-bed general hospital to be constructed in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, wit

Sept. 21, 2016

[News Focus] Government braces for industry-level strike by financial workers this week

Tension is growing between South Korean financial authorities and the trade unions of financial institutions ahead of an industry-wide labor strike slated for Friday.The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service on Wednesday held an emergency meeting with the heads of seven commercial banks whose labor unions decided to go on strike this week to discuss contingency plans regarding possible inconvenience to consumers. The Korean Financial Industry Union has been warning

Sept. 21, 2016

Firms to adopt their own credit rating systems next year

The Financial Services Commission on Wednesday came up with a string of measures to improve the credit rating market after coming under fire for belated actions on defaulting companies by local credit rating agencies. The FSC will allow financial institutions to adopt stand-alone credit rating systems starting next year, and all businesses from 2018. Such independent rating systems will help firms evaluate their own risks while making investment decisions and improving fiscal soundness, the comm

Sept. 21, 2016

[Photo News] Financial job fair

A jobseeker wearing a virtual reality headset searches for recruitment plans by financial institutions on a screen at the first financial industry-level job fair held at Coex in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

Sept. 21, 2016

Gov't urges bank labor to drop strike plan

South Korea's chief financial regulator called on the nation's umbrella bank union Wednesday to withdraw its plan to go on a general strike later this week, saying such a collective action will never win public support especially at a time when the local banking industry faces a "life-or-death" crisis.Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, delivered the message in a meeting with the heads of seven major local banks to discuss ways to deal with the move by the Korean Financ

Sept. 21, 2016

[Monitor] Korea’s shadow economy size bigger than OECD peers

The size of South Korea’s underground economy is equivalent to 10 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, a research paper said Monday. Professor Kim Jong-hee of Chonbuk National University said the scale of the shadow economy in South Korea, at an average of 10.89 percent, far exceeds the average of 6.65 percent for G7 countries, as well as the 8.06 percent for 18 other member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Sept. 20, 2016

[News Focus] Investors positively considering bidding for Woori Bank shares

Prospects look bright for the South Korean financial authority’s fifth attempt to privatize state-owned Woori Bank, with a handful of institutional investors positively considering applying for the bid slated to open Friday. So far, Kyobo Life Insurance, Hanwha Life Insurance and Korea Investment Holdings have confirmed as of Tuesday that they are considering buying splinter stakes to become one of the oligopolistic stakeholders of the bank. In August, the Financial Services Commission’s Public

Sept. 20, 2016

Citibank Korea launches new wealth management platform

Citibank Korea launched a comprehensive wealth management advisory system called Total Wealth Advisor to provide quality service for asset management, the bank said Tuesday. Citibank Korea’s new service enables the bank’s relationship managers and portfolio counselors to provide financial goal planning and investment asset management services for customers through a systematic and standardized process, the bank said.  Citibank Korea officials provide a customer with an asset management service.

Sept. 20, 2016

[Monitor] Think tank predicts economic growth of 2.6% next year

A leading economic think tank in Korea predicted Sunday that the nation’s economy will grow 2.6 percent next year, marking a third consecutive year trapped in the 2-percent range. Hyundai Research Institute said in its report that the nation is expected to see continued low growth due to weak domestic consumption. 　

Sept. 19, 2016

Expert urges Korea to step up fight against money laundering

The head of a new international educational institute on anti-money laundering urged Korea to upgrade its legal system to better combat illegal financial transactions and terrorism financing. 　Kevin Stephenson, the inaugural director of the Training and Research Institute under the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF TREIN, slated for official launch in Busan on Tuesday, acknowledged the efforts the Korean government has made so far to root out illegal financial transactions, but asked for more

Sept. 19, 2016