The Korea Herald

Hana Bank chief disciplined for engaging in illegal lending

The president of Hana Bank, the fourth-largest lender in South Korea, has been disciplined for illegally providing loans to fund an ailing savings bank several years ago, financial industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, Hana Bank President Kim Jong-jun, then head of Hana Capital Co., allegedly invested 14.5 billion won ($13.7 million) in a savings bank in 2011 using fabricated documents and skipping an approval process by the board of directors. Hana Capital failed to recollect

April 1, 2014

Carmakers boost sales 8.5% in March

Sales of South Korean automakers rose 8.5 percent last month from a year earlier, helped by consumer interest in newly released models and generally strong demand from overseas markets, data showed Tuesday.Combined sales of five local car manufacturers, including market leader Hyundai Motor Co., reached 788,922 vehicles in March, up from 727,159 units a year ago. The total excludes knockdown kits shipped abroad for assembly. During the same period, domestic sales rose 2.7 percent to 121,416 unit

April 1, 2014

Additional data leaks found at credit card firms

The personal data of 175,000 more customers were found to have been leaked from credit card firms that were responsible for a massive data theft earlier this year, financial sources said Tuesday.The classified data of up to 140,000 shop owners were leaked from KB Kookmin Card, along with information on 35,000 customers of NH Nonghyup Card, according to the sources.The additional breach comes just months after some 103 million cases of data leak were discovered at KB Card, NH Card and Lotte Card.

April 1, 2014

[Herald Interview] Changing old habits in equity investment

John Lee left Korea more than three decades ago to study accounting in the U.S. He had a successful career as a fund manager on Wall Street ― he was responsible for some $1.8 billion worth of assets at the time ― and also headed a team of experts focusing on investment in Korea.Having enjoyed such success, Lee, now 56, is back in Korea for a new mission: to create an advanced investment culture in his home country. “I wanted to come back to use my knowledge and experience to help the country’s f

March 31, 2014

[Herald Interview] Changing old habits in equity investment

Creditor banks to more closely monitor large companies

More than a dozen major Korean companies, including affiliates of well-known conglomerates such as Hyundai and Samsung, will be placed under close scrutiny of creditor banks this year as the financial regulator enforces tighter corporate debt standards. The newly added companies include Hyundai Group, Halla Group, Hankook Tire, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding and Hyundai Development, according to industry sources Monday.Others such as Hyundai Motor, Samsung Group, LG Group, Hyundai Heavy Industries

March 31, 2014

Korea's current account surplus widens in Feb.

South Korea's current account surplus widened in February from the previous month as trade gains increased and the service account deficit fell, the central bank said Monday.The current account surplus reached US$4.52 billion in February, up from $3.29 billion in January, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.The current account was in the black for the 24th straight month in February, providing a buffer for Korea as the U.S. Fede

March 31, 2014

Financial companies to be banned from telemarketing

The overall financial sector, including banks, credit card and insurance firms, will be barred from selling products by phone under a new set of regulations scheduled to take effect this week.A complete ban on the sale of financial products via telemarketing is included in the new guidelines aimed at “enhancing the protection of personal data,” set by the Financial Supervisory Service and the Financial Services Commission, a regulatory official said on Sunday. “All non face-to-face marketing act

March 30, 2014

Financial companies to be banned from telemarketing

Conglomerates’ cash assets sharply increase in 2013

Cash assets held by South Korea’s top 30 conglomerates grew sharply to 157.7 trillion won ($147.5 billion) in 2013 as businesses withheld investment in the face of mounting uncertainties, a report by an online corporate research firm showed Sunday.According to CEO Score, cash held by the 171 listed companies belonging to the largest conglomerates, excluding financial firms, were up 18.3 percent from 133.3 trillion won tallied a year earlier.“The increase is due to businesses taking a conservativ

March 30, 2014

S. Korea to use aid fund to help Latin America develop: official

South Korea will use its state-run Economic Development Cooperation Fund to support development in Latin America, the country's top economic policymaker said Saturday.Seoul's finance minister Hyun Oh-seok said he signed a letter of intent with Luis Alberto Moreno, the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, that outlines South Korea's commitment to provide funds to assist with various infrastructure development projects.The agreement was reached at the annual meeting of the IDB held in

March 30, 2014

Dollar share of foreign exchange reserves rises in 2013

The weight of U.S. dollar-denominated assets in South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves rebounded in 2013 from a five-year low the previous year amid the Federal Reserve’s monetary stimulus cut, the central bank said Friday.The Bank of Korea said in an annual policy report that its dollar holdings came to 58.3 percent of its foreign assets last year, up from 57.3 percent in the previous year.Korea’s foreign reserves stood at $346.5 billion as of the end of 2013, the seventh-largest in the world.

March 28, 2014

[Newsmaker] FSS governor rings changes

According to its usual protocol, the Financial Supervisory Service should have made its regular personnel appointment in March. But this year, the troubled regulator was far too preoccupied. FSS Gov. Choi Soo-hyun, weighed down by an endless string of scandals in the financial industry, decided that the only way out was by changing everything, especially his staff.As such, the financial regulator has agreed to name Park Young-joon, assistant deputy director of financial investment, as new vice g

March 27, 2014

Seoul shares rise on recovery hopes

Stocks listed on the local markets closed higher Thursday on the back of rising hopes of an economic recovery in advanced nations, analysts said. The optimism more or less overshadowed concerns of political instability in Ukraine, and also of a slowdown in the Chinese economy.The South Korean won closed slightly stronger against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 13.66 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,977.97. Trading volume was low at 212 million shares worth 3.88

March 27, 2014

Shinhan beefs up support for small businesses

CO-Tech, a small manufacturer specializing in coating equipment, faced a severe cash shortage in 2012. The company’s CEO said he visited several commercial banks to seek loans, only to be turned down again and again. “No one would lend money because of our rather unfavorable balance sheet and low credit rating,” Kim Young-bae, the CEO of CO-Tech recalled. That was when he discovered Shinhan Bank’s loan service aimed at small and medium-sized businesses.The country’s second-largest lender has les

March 27, 2014

Shinhan beefs up support for small businesses

Banks’ loan delinquency rate rises in February

The delinquency rate on loans extended by South Korean banks inched up in February as more loans turned sour than in the previous month, the financial watchdog said Thursday.The average delinquency rate of bank loans came to 1.05 percent at the end of February, up 0.07 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.It marks a 0.21 percentage point drop from the same month a year ago. The rate is measured based on principals of loans overdue for more than

March 27, 2014

BOK to use MBS for open market operation

South Korea’s central bank said Thursday that it will include mortgage-backed securities issued by the state-run housing financing agency in the scope of its open market operations from June.The Bank of Korea said earlier in the day the monetary policy committee approved a motion to use MBS issued by the Korea Housing Finance Corp. as collateral for its repurchasing agreement operations in a bid to help tackle household debt problems.The decision will help increase investors’ demand for such deb

March 27, 2014

Korea’s GDP grows 3 percent in 2013

The Korean economy expanded at its fastest clip in two years in 2013, due largely to brisk exports and steady consumer spending, the central bank announced on Wednesday. The country’s gross domestic product advanced 3 percent on year at the end of 2013, up 2.8 percent from its earlier estimate in January. A recovery of investment in the construction industry also helped push up the rate, the Bank of Korea said. “Investment on infrastructure was sluggish (in 2013) but overall the country saw stea

March 26, 2014

KRX union, DP oppose extending stock trading hours

Plans from local bourse operator Korea Exchange to extend the local stock market’s trading hours are facing resistance from unionized workers and opposition party lawmakers.The Korean Finance & Service Workers’ Union on Wednesday called for the exchange to scrap its plan for a trading hours extension of one hour per day. The daily opening time will stay at 9 a.m., but the main bourse is seeking to change the closing time from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.“Korea has the longest trading hours (six per day) com

March 26, 2014

HSBC appoints new head of payments and cash management

HSBC Korea said Wednesday that Brian Ford had been appointed head of payments and cash management of the local unit of the U.K-based banking giant. Prior to the appointment, Ford served as head of sales for HSBC’s payments and cash management business in Canada. He will be responsible for managing the local cash management business and further building HSBC’s ties with local companies, the bank said.“I am confident that his expertise and established track record for driving business growth in Ca

March 26, 2014

HSBC appoints new head of payments and cash management

4 firms dominate audit services for top 10 conglomerates

The country’s top four accountancy firms were found to be monopolizing the external audit services for Korea’s top 10 conglomerates in 2013, data showed Wednesday.Of the 83 firms affiliated with the top 10 business groups, 96.4 percent appointed Samil PwC, Samjong KPMG, Hanyoung Ernst & Young and Deloitte Anjin as their external auditors in 2013, according to the regulatory filings.The comparable figures for 2011 and 2012 were 96.4 percent, the data showed, indicating that conglomerates have not

March 26, 2014

KRX to complete IT system for Uzbek stock market by 2015

Korea’s bourse operator said Wednesday that it had signed a deal to complete an information technology system for Uzbekistan’s stock market by 2015.In 2011, the Korea Exchange inked a deal with the State Property Committee of Uzbekistan to provide and assist the Uzbek stock market with an operating system that covers trading, payment and brokering. The process was initially scheduled to be completed by 2013 but was delayed due to procedural matters and differences over the terms of the deal.The

March 26, 2014