Home-backed lending jumps W2.4tr in April

Korean banks’ home-backed loans grew by the largest amount in four months in April as the economic recovery spurred loan demand, the central bank said Thursday.Local banks’ mortgage loans reached an outstanding 292.3 trillion won ($269 billion) as of the end of April, up 2.4 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The April number jumped from a 2.1 trillion won on-mont

May 12, 2011

FSC delays ruling on Lone Star’s eligibility

Decision spurns speculation that Hana Financial-Lone Star deal may break downThe Financial Services Commission announced Thursday that it has decided to indefinitely delay its ruling on whether Lone Star Funds of the U.S. was eligible to buy Korea Exchange Bank in 2003.With the decision, speculation is rising in financial markets that the preliminary contract between Hana Financial Group and Lone

May 12, 2011

Road map for Woori Finance sale due out next week: FSC

Korea will unveil its road map for the sale of a controlling stake in the second-biggest banking group Woori Finance Holdings Co. next week in a bid to restart its stalled privatization, the financial regulator said Wednesday.The Public Fund Oversight Committee, which handles the sale of state-owned firms, will announce on May 17 how to sell the 56.97 percent government stake in Woori Finance, the

May 11, 2011

BOK likely to hike key rate: poll

Korea’s central bank is widely expected to resume its tightening move in May by raising the key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in a bid to stem inflationary pressure, a poll showed Wednesday.A total of 14 out of 17 economists forecast that the Bank of Korea will raise the benchmark seven-day repo rate to 3.25 percent on Friday, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the finan

May 11, 2011

Real interest rates below zero percent

Real interest has stayed below inflation for the past year, devaluing returns on bond investments and deposits at banks, a government report said Wednesday.The interest rate on 1-year savings products at most commercial banks is just over 4 percent, leaving no room for profit given on-year inflation in the 4 percent range on top of a 15.4 percent tax on interest income. “Real returns on deposits w

May 11, 2011

36% of recent college graduates out of work

The number of unemployed fresh college graduates increased by 0.2 percent in April from a year earlier despite a drop in the overall jobless rate, Statistics Korea said Wednesday. Some 63.6 percent of college graduates in their twenties were part of the workforce, posting a 0.3 percent drop from a month earlier, indicating a persistent structural mismatch between the reality of the job market and

May 11, 2011

Lawmakers support BOK on supervision

Central bank may be given right to inspect financial companiesThe nation’s financial market is focusing on the growing possibility that a proposed revision of the law on the Bank of Korea could pass the National Assembly this year.If the law on the BOK is revised, the central bank ― like the Financial Supervisory Service ― will be entitled to conduct independent inspections into financial companie

May 10, 2011

Four financial groups may see 10 trillion won in profit

Four major financial groups are expected to reap more than 10 trillion won ($9.3 billion) in combined net profit this year, mainly buoyed by revised accounting standards.The market is focusing on the growing feasibility of their all-time high earnings as they reported remarkable earnings during the first quarter.Profits posted by the four groups ― KB, Woori, Shinhan and Hana ― reached 2.6 trillion

May 9, 2011

Investment banks expect BOK to hike key rate in May

  Most global investment banks forecast South Korea's central bank to raise its key interest rate this month in a bid to rein in rising consumer prices, a report showed Monday.   According to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance, the investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, predict the Bank of Korea (BOK) will hike the benchmark seven-day repo rate at a rate-setting session s

May 9, 2011

P.M.’s office soon to unveil plans to overhaul FSS

The Prime Minister’s Office is set to unveil a road map to reforming the nation’s financial regulatory body, which has been tarnished by a series of corruption scandals involving its staff and distressed savings banks.The reform plan, to be unveiled this week, will aims to reestablish public confidence in the embattled Financial Supervisory Service, which has been harshly criticized for failing to

May 8, 2011

Korea to cut collusion in financial sector

The administration and the National Assembly have begun in earnest to reform the nation’s top financial watchdog, to cut its long-held collusive ties with financial companies it supervises.Assessing that the Financial Supervisory Service, hit by a series of corruption scandals involving its former and incumbent staff, cannot complete a self-purification drive, the Prime Minister’s Office is pushin

May 6, 2011

Construction industry suffered in 2010: report

South Korea’s construction industry went through hard times last year despite a general boom in growth in other sectors, a report by the central bank showed Thursday.The woes were mainly due to the sluggish local real estate market that caused a general drop in houses being built across the country and led to a decrease in work. Such developments exerted negative influence on key numbers such as r

May 5, 2011

Card loans dwindle in Q1

The total amount of loans offered to local credit card holders decreased in the first quarter compared to the last three months of 2010 as financial institutions and state regulators tightened oversight to prevent risks down the road, an industry report showed Thursday.The latest findings showed card loans provided by six dedicated cards, excluding BC Card, reached 5.45 trillion won ($5.07 billion

May 5, 2011

Asian countries agree on crisis prevention efforts

Finance ministers of Asian countries agreed Wednesday to intensify their cooperation in staving off Asia-wide financial turmoil by taking preemptive crisis prevention measures, Seoul officials said.The agreement, which was made during a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, focuses on strengthening the role of a regional financial safety net under the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), the Min

May 4, 2011