FSS to open currency exchange info website

South Korea's financial authorities said Thursday they will offer a consolidated information service on foreign currency exchange starting later this week for a growing number of outbound travelers.A total of 22.7 million people left South Korea for foreign countries last year alone, the Financial Supervisory Service said, citing data from the Justice Ministry's immigration office. Travelers exchange currencies at Incheon International Airport in this undated file photo. (Yonhap)Many South Korea

Feb. 9, 2017

Household debt growth slows down in January

South Korean banks' household loans increased at a modest pace last month on interest rate hikes and less trade in the housing sector, the central bank said Thursday.Loans extended to households here rose 100 billion won ($87.1 million) in January, far less than the 3.4 trillion won recorded a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. A scene of a mortgage loan service team at a Seoul bank in an undated file photo. (Yonhap)Mortgage loans grew 800 billion won during the month to 533.7 trilli

Feb. 9, 2017

Won-dollar volatility surges in January on Trump's policy

Volatility in won-dollar exchange rates rose sharply last month amid uncertainty over the Donald Trump administration's policy direction, while the Korean currency gained ground against the greenback, central bank data showed Thursday.The daily foreign exchange variation of the won-dollar rate averaged 0.60 percent in the month, up from 0.34 percent in December and 0.47 percent in November, according to the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The figure shows how much the rate changes compared with the previ

Feb. 9, 2017

Shinhan Financial, Woori profits rise on lending growth

Shinhan Financial Group said its annual net profit rose 17.2 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, mainly due to a growth in lending.The nation’s largest financial group by asset said in a regulatory filing that its net profit reached 2.7 trillion won last year, the highest figure since 3.1 trillion won in 2011.In the fourth quarter alone, its net profit surged 51.5 percent on-year to 612.1 billion won. (Yonhap)Most of the net profit came from its banking subsidiary Shinhan Bank. The bank’s annua

Feb. 8, 2017

Korea, Australia expand currency swap deal

South Korea and Australia renewed an existing currency swap for another three years at a size doubling the previous deal, South Korea’s central bank announced on Wednesday. The governors of the central banks -- the Bank of Korea and the Reserve Bank of Australia -- signed a deal on Wednesday to extend the current deal, which was scheduled to expire on Feb. 22, for another three years.  They also agreed to double the size of the currency swap agreement to 10 billion Australian dollar

Feb. 8, 2017

KDB chief rebuts criticism about its dependence on government

The head of the state-run policy bank Korea Development Bank on Wednesday vehemently defended the bank’s fiscal soundness, comparing it to that of the Export-Import Bank of Korea.His comments came amid growing criticism that state-run banks overly depend on the government’s financial support whenever their financing for indebted firms such as shippers and shipbuilders becomes difficult.“While we have received a total of 3.8 trillion won ($3.31 billion) from the government for the past decade, mo

Feb. 8, 2017

Woori Bank's Q4 net down 29% on one-off costs

Woori Bank, a South Korean lender, said Wednesday it has posted a 29-percent on-year decline in net profit for the fourth quarter due to increased one-off costs.Net profit fell to 155.4 billion won ($135 million) in the October-December period on a consolidated basis, compared to 219.2 billion won a year earlier, the lender said in a statement. (Yonhap)The net result was affected by severance payments worth 86 billion won and bonuses valued at 84 billion won in the last quarter, it said. Still,

Feb. 8, 2017

Shinhan Financial 2016 net rises to W2.7tr

Major banking group Shinhan Financial Group said Wednesday its net profit jumped more than 17 percent on-year in 2016, led by an improvement in the earnings of flagship subsidiary Shinhan Bank.Net profit rose 17.2 percent to 2.77 trillion won ($2.35 billion) last year, the third consecutive year for the group to post more than 2 trillion won in net income. It also marks Shinhan's second-biggest earnings in its history after 3.1 trillion won recorded in 2011. The corporate logo of Shinhan Financi

Feb. 8, 2017

Govt. seeks to foster trust business

South Korea's financial authorities said Wednesday they have started full-scale efforts to promote the trust business with the launch of an inter-agency task force.The team is tasked with laying the groundwork for drafting a related bill and will include officials from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Justice and the Financial Services Commission. Kim Yong-beom, head of the Financial Services Commission's secretariat, speaks to reporters in this undated file photo. (Yonhap)"

Feb. 8, 2017

Korea's money supply up 7.5% in December

The money supply in South Korea jumped 7.5 percent in December from a year earlier, the central bank said Wednesday.The nation's "M2" totaled 2,405.8 trillion won ($2.1 trillion) in December, compared with 2,241.5 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. (Yonhap)Month-on-month, the money supply was up 0.03 percent from November, the statement said.M2 is a measure of the money supply counting the currency in circulation, including bank debentures and deposits with a mat

Feb. 8, 2017

Korea's investment in US hits 6-yr high in 2016

New South Korean investment in the United States reached a six-year high in 2016, also surpassing new US investment in South Korea, data showed Wednesday.According to the data from the Korea International Trade Association, fresh South Korean investment in the United States reached $6.94 billion in the first nine months of last year. (Yonhap)The amount, even without fourth quarter figures, is close to the annual total of $7.31 billion in 2011, the highest in six years.The annual tally for 2015 c

Feb. 8, 2017

NPS to invest W10tr in domestic stocks

The National Pension Service, the state-run operator of pension funds, will pour 10 trillion won ($8.75 billion) this year into buying shares of domestically traded companies, including Samsung Electronics, its chief investment officer said Tuesday. Kang Myoun-wook, the NPS chief investment officer, said in an interview with a local media outlet that the nation’s largest institutional investor would use 20 percent of fresh funds accumulated, or around 50 trillion won, raised annually for domesti

Feb. 7, 2017

Wi nominated as new Shinhan Bank CEO

Shinhan Financial Group said Tuesday Wi Sung-ho, CEO of Shinhan Card, has been nominated as the new CEO of Shinhan Bank.The group’s committee for management of subsidiaries decided to recommend Wi as the sole candidate to lead the nation’s largest lender by assets, it said. Wi Sung-ho (Shinhan Financial Group)Shinhan Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shinhan Financial.To lead the bank, Wi still needs an agreement of the bank’s executive recommendation committee at a Wednesday meeting and an a

Feb. 7, 2017

Korea's fund market grows 11.8% in 2016

The net asset value of funds in South Korea hit a record high last year, growing nearly 12 percent from 2015 on significant capital inflows into bond and short-term funds, government data showed Tuesday.The volume came to 462.4 trillion won ($404 billion), up 11.8 percent from 2015, according to the Financial Services Commission . An image of equity funds (Yonhap)"Due to a trend of favoring safer assets and an increase in parked money attributable to internal and external uncertainties, equity f

Feb. 7, 2017

PyeongChang picks KEB Hana Bank as preferred negotiating partner for Olympic sponsorship

The organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games has selected KEB Hana Bank as its preferred negotiating partner for an Olympic sponsorship, a banking industry source said Tuesday.The source said KEB Hana Bank beat out two candidates in the open bid last week, and it will negotiate the size of the sponsorship deal and other conditions with PyeongChang organizers over the next month or so. (Yonhap)Once the deal is finalized, KEB Hank Bank will be the main banking partner for the fir

Feb. 7, 2017

Regulator to prioritize financial risk control in 2017

South Korea's state financial watchdog said Tuesday its priority this year is to reinforce readiness to cope with US interest rate increases, the possible impact from North Korean nuclear threats and other emergency situations.The Financial Supervisory Service will immediately shift to a 24-hour emergency response mode if necessary and put "contingency plans" into operation. The logo of the Financial Supervisory Service (Yonhap)Announcing its 2017 policy direction, the FSS placed a "pre-emptive

Feb. 7, 2017

KEB Hana receives highest customer satisfaction rating among banks

KEB Hana Bank ranked top in customer satisfaction in services among lenders, while Shinhan Bank was named No. 1 for its mobile app, survey results out Tuesday from the Korea Consumer Agency said.A poll asking 1,600 customers to rate eight banks with nationwide branches showed KEB Hana received 3.68 out of five points. Shinhan came in close second with 3.66 points, Woori and KB Kookmin tying at 3.63 points, and Nonghyup Bank following at 3.61 points. Industrial Bank of Korea and Citi Bank both ea

Feb. 7, 2017

Foreign stock ownership breaks W500tr barrier for first time

Foreign investors held a record high of over 500 trillion won in shares of listed companies in South Korea in January. Foreign investors owned a total of 501.96 trillion won in shares of South Korea’s listed companies, adding 20.4 trillion won from the previous month or almost 100 trillion from a year earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service said Monday. They accounted for 32 percent of the total stock ownership, up from 31.2 percent in December. The prospect of the greenback weaken

Feb. 6, 2017

SK Innovation rating upgraded by Moody's, S&P on strong earnings

SK Innovation Co., South Korea's top oil refiner, said Monday that its rating was raised by global credit appraisers for its strong bottom line.Moody's Investors Service has raised its rating on SK Innovation to 'Baa1,' from 'Baa2,' the highest-ever grade given by the global rating agency to the refiner, it said. (Yonhap)Another rating agency, the Standard & Poor's, also upped its rating on SK Innovation to 'BBB+' from 'BBB,' according to the firm.The rating given to SK Innovation is the highest

Feb. 6, 2017

Brokerages need level playing field against banks: KOFIA chairman

The chief of South Korea’s financial investment association, which represents more than 300 brokerages and asset management firms, said he will strive this year to persuade the government to level the playing field for brokerages.Hwang Young-key, chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, said the current law barring securities firms from offering corporate payment and settlement service was unfair, while banks, mutual savings banks and credit unions are allowed to do so.Hwang Young

Feb. 6, 2017