Credit card installment purchases hit 15-year high

Credit card installment purchases rose to a 15-year high in the first quarter of this year as households tried to reduce their repayment burden in the face of mounting debt, a report showed Sunday.The Credit Finance Association of Korea report showed 17.4 percent of all card purchases made in the January-March period were installments, the highest reached since 19.2 percent tallied for the whole of 1997, when the country was rocked by the Asian financial crisis.Reflecting this, credit card firms

July 22, 2012

Hana Financial buys U.S. bank holding company

Hana Financial Group said Sunday it signed an agreement to acquire a 71 percent stake of BNB Financial Services Corporation, a holding company of New York-based Broadway National Bank.The acquisition of the only Korean-American bank that has a national license provides a foothold for Hana to expand sales in North America, the financial group said in a press release.National banks have high consumer trust as they are chartered and supervised by the Office of Comptroller of Currency, an agency und

July 22, 2012

Public sector debt rises nearly 10%

The debt of South Korea’s public sector rose nearly 10 percent in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier due to increased spending on state projects and government efforts to curb public utility charges, data showed Sunday.The outstanding debt of the government and nonfinancial state-owned corporations came to 842.27 trillion won ($738.5 billion) as of the end of March, up 9.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the finance ministry and the Bank of Korea.The figure

July 22, 2012

Bidding for Woori slated for Friday

Financial authorities are scheduled to accept preliminary bids for tax money injected Woori Financial Group this Friday.The sale plan for the state-controlled financial company is drawing attention in the market while a group of lawmakers are calling on the Financial Services Commission to postpone the M&A competition for the next administration.Three months ago, the FSC made an official notification of the sale procedure, announcing that it would select preliminary bidders for Woori Financial b

July 22, 2012

Shares close flat on mixed market signs

Korean stocks closed nearly flat on Friday as concerns over weak U.S. data slightly outweighed firm gains in technology shares, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. After a rangebound trading session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 0.03 points to 1,822.93. Trading volume was moderate at 405.6 million shares worth 3.6 trillion won ($3.2 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 404 to 381.“Basically, there was no strong market-driving factor

July 20, 2012

FSS governor calls for stronger risk management

Korean brokerage houses and other financial investment companies should beef up risk management as uncertainties surrounding the eurozone crisis and the global economic slump are expected to last for some time, the top financial regulator said Friday. “Financial firms need to step up efforts to manage risks as their internal control stands vulnerable to external shocks,” said Kwon Hyouk-se, head of the Financial Supervisory Service.In a meeting with the chief executives of local financial firms,

July 20, 2012

Rate-rigging may hurt confidence in Korea

International lawsuits likely to follow if collusion is foundConcerns about a possible fall in international confidence in Korea’s financial markets are rising after the government launched a probe into alleged collusion by banks and brokerages to rig rates on certificates of deposit earlier this week. Market observers said if allegations of the collusion are found to be true, it may lead foreigners to exit from the nation’s derivatives markets based on CD rates.They also raised the possibility

July 20, 2012

Rate-rigging probe gains traction as brokerage confesses

Consumer groups plan class-action lawsuits, FSC mulls new rate to replace CD rateA brokerage firm admitted after the nation’s antitrust watchdog launched a probe that it colluded with other companies to rig interest rates of certificates of deposit, financial sources said on Thursday. Financial observers said the CD rate-rigging case could develop into a Korean version of the LIBOR or the London Interbank Offered Rate fixing scandal in Britain and have huge ramifications.Under the Fair Trade Com

July 19, 2012

Listed firms cut dividend payouts on uncertainties

Korean listed firms sharply reduced their cash dividends paid out to their shareholders this year as growing economic uncertainties have led them to secure capital amid a dim earnings outlook, data showed Thursday. The combined interim cash dividends of six local listed firms that logged their dividend payouts in the regulatory filings stood at 118.4 billion won ($103.6 million) as of June 19, down 57.2 percent from 276.4 billion won a year ago, according to the data compiled by financial inform

July 19, 2012

Korea’s growth could slow to 1 percent range: BOA

Korea’s economic growth rate could drop to the 1-percent range this year if worsening external market conditions make a dent in its exports, a report indicated Thursday.Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecast that Asia’s fourth-largest economy could expand 1.8 percent this year, according to the report compiled by the Korea Center for International Finance. This is much lower than the government’s estimate of 3.3 percent and the Bank of Korea’s 3 percent growth projections. The government and the

July 19, 2012

Shares up 1.56 percent on U.S. recovery hope

Korean stocks closed 1.56 percent higher Thursday as signs of recovery in the U.S. housing market prompted investors to snap up shares following a sharp fall in the previous session, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index jumped 28.05 points to 1,822.96, rebounding from a 1.48 percent decline on Wednesday. Trading volume was moderate at 482.3 million shares worth 4.6 trillion won ($4 billion), with gainers outnumbering de

July 19, 2012

FTC expands CD rate probe to major banks

Antitrust watchdog sends investigators to Shinhan, Woori, Hana, KB KookminThe Fair Trade Commission has expanded its probe on the alleged collusion in setting certificate of deposit rates to major banks. The antitrust watchdog sent investigation teams on Wednesday to four banks ― Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank and KB Kookmin Bank ― on suspicions that they fixed interest rates of three-month certificates of deposit. The move is a follow-up of the investigation into local brokerage firms on T

July 18, 2012

Korea facing deflationary risks: experts

Sluggish demand at home and abroad, slowing money flow add to deflation fears amid euro crisisKorea is facing rising deflationary concerns, experts said, as worsening external economic conditions weigh on the export-dependent economy and the property market slump draws out. Deflation, a decrease in the general price level of goods and services, is caused by many factors including a deflationary gap, in which total spending in an economy is insufficient to buy all the output that can be produced

July 18, 2012

Shares down 1.48% on Fed disappointment

Korean stocks closed 1.48 percent lower on Wednesday as investor sentiment took a blow from U.S. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s bleak economic outlook, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slumped 27.05 points to 1,794.91. Trading volume was moderate at 448.5 million shares worth 4.4 trillion won ($3.9 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 658 to 169.“Bernanke’s gloomy economic outlook as well as weakening hopes ov

July 18, 2012

Inter-bank FX turnover hits over 4-year high in Q2

Korean banks’ daily foreign exchange trading volume rose to the highest level in more than four years in the second quarter amid a continued current account surplus, the central bank said Wednesday.The daily foreign exchange trading volume among banks averaged $22.72 billion in the April-June period, up 1.2 percent from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. The reading marked the highest level since $23.37 billion in the first quarter of 2008.Daily transactions of foreign exchang

July 18, 2012

Financial holding firms’ overseas expansion slows

Korean financial holdings companies were lukewarm about expanding their overseas operations in the first half of the year due to jitters over the eurozone debt crisis and a slowing world economy, the financial regulator said Wednesday. The country’s 10 financial holding companies had 150 overseas branches, representative offices and wholly-owned subsidiaries as of June, compared with 151 six months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The FSS said worsening global market condi

July 18, 2012

Seoul shares turn higher after weak start

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Wednesday but swung to positive territory on hopes for the U.S. Fed's further quantitative easing, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.44 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,822.4 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Blue-chip exporters led the gains, with Samsung Electronics adding 1.11 percent and top automaker Hyund

July 18, 2012

Non-banks' delinquent borrowers grow fast

Delinquent borrowers from South Korean non-bank financial companies are growing at a fast clip, data showed Tuesday, raising concern over the worsening of the country's household debt problem. The number of delinquent borrowers, who are more than 30 days behind in their repayments, accounted for 5.6 percent of the entire credit card loan users as of May, up from 4.5 percent in January, according to the data from local credit appraiser NICE Information Service. The corresponding figure for financ

July 17, 2012