Financial authorities to tighten anti-money laundering rules

Financial authorities plan to tighten anti-money laundering regulations ahead of next year's assessment of South Korea by an intergovernmental organization set up to combat illicit movement of funds, officials said Sunday.The Financial Action Task Force, a body established with the mission of clamping down on money laundering, will conduct its assessment on South Korean efforts in 2019. The FATF has also strengthened rules to stamp out money laundering as the liberalization of markets and popula

June 10, 2018

Wider US-Korea rate gap expected to rekindle concerns of capital outflows

The gap between key South Korean and US interest rates will widen further if the US Federal Reserve raises its key rate again this week, a move that would rekindle worries of capital outflows, according to analysts Sunday. Currently, South Korea's base rate stands at 1.5 percent, the same as the lower end of the US policy rate. Traders have expected the Fed to raise its key rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 1.75 percent to 2 percent this week. The current interest rate reversal is

June 10, 2018

Kakao Bank to launch chatbot to upgrade unmanned customer service

Kakao Bank, South Korea’s largest internet-only bank, on Friday showcased a beta version of a customer service chatbot it expects to play a crucial role in enhancing its unmanned operation. The service will officially launch this month, the company said, without elaborating.The launch is expected to relieve the burden of existing customer services, for which 80 percent of customer inquiries were simple issues that could be addressed by the system, according to the bank. Veronica Lee, proje

June 8, 2018

Seoul stocks slump ahead of G-7 summit

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday to end a five-day winning streak as investors tried to lock in profits from recent gains, amid lingering trade concerns ahead of a Group of Seven meeting, analysts said. The Korean won weakened against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index sank 19 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 2,451.58. Trade volume was relatively heavy at 510.91 million shares worth 7.19 trillion won ($6.69 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 553 to 2

June 8, 2018

[Herald Interview] Cashnote streamlines card income management for retailers

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 16th installment. - Ed.To retail shop owners occupied with day-to-day operations, managing card payments is an integral part of doing business, but at the same time, a time-consuming hassle.Vendors in South Korea, where there are a total of eight card companies in business, also face the same situation, particularly as cards have become the main means of payment.In 2017,

June 5, 2018

Samsung SDS launches blockchain-powered financial infrastructure

Samsung SDS on Monday launched a financial platform powered by blockchain and artificial intelligence, designed to help the local banking industry to cut cost, minimize security threats and streamline financial procedures, the firm said.Dubbed “Nexfinance,” the new platform features user applications that would automate a customer’s process of tracking and integrating financial records from different financial companies, getting product recommendations, claiming insurance and m

June 4, 2018

Korean markets to close on June 13 for election

South Korea’s financial markets will shut down on June 13 for a designated holiday for local election, according to the Korea Exchange Monday.  Markets trading equities, derivatives and commodities here will be closed throughout the day, based on the internal regulations by the KRX. Also, settlement or liquidation of stocks, derivatives and interest rate swaps in Korean won and US dollar will not be conducted during the day.The KRX operates markets for stocks, exchange-traded funds or

June 4, 2018

Govt. to tighten reporting rules on financial transactions

The government has proposed a bill to toughen the rules for reporting on certain financial transactions, the country's top financial regulator said Sunday.The move is part of Seoul's ongoing efforts to better ferret out financial crime and money laundering activities, the Financial Services Commission said.South Korea has tightened regulations on anti-money laundering and possible terrorism financing, targeting some loopholes that may be used by people to conceal their wealth. The FSC said in a

June 3, 2018

Lowest income households' interest burden surges 33% in Q1: data

The interest payment burden on South Korea's lowest income households surged 33 percent on-year in the first quarter of 2018 amid a drop in their earnings, official data showed Sunday.According to Statistics Korea, households with two members in the bottom 20 percent earnings bracket earned 8 percent less in the January-March period while the country's interest rates moved upwards. Such developments are exacerbating the already tough debt service obligations of these households.Lower income and

June 3, 2018

Regulator wraps up review of Samsung BioLogics' suspected accounting breach

The financial regulator has wrapped up its review of a regulatory probe into whether Samsung BioLogics Co. violated accounting rules, officials said Friday.Details of the review were not disclosed due to a confidentiality agreement, but the review apparently failed to reach a consensus as the Financial Services Commission said there were some "majority and minority opinions" about the case.The review came after financial authorities gave a preliminary notice earlier last month to Samsu

June 1, 2018

Banks hold breath as recruitment scandals intensify

The banking industry here has been stirred up following the arrest warrant sought by the prosecution against KEB Hana Bank Chief Executive Officer Ham Young-joo last Wednesday, in the latest development of the recruitment scandal. Ham will face a hearing on the arrest warrant on Friday.If the court decides to issue the warrant, Ham will become the first incumbent head of a South Korean commercial bank to be under arrest on charges of hiring irregularities.  The prosecution views a banking f

May 31, 2018

BOK denies allegation of inflating export volume

The Bank of Korea on Thursday rebuked claims by a local news report that the central bank “inflated” the nation’s export volume over the past eight years for the sake of a “rosier” export economy outlook.On Wednesday evening, local television channel MBC claimed that the nation’s balance of payments has been exaggerated since 2010, when the Bank of Korea began applying new International Monetary Fund standards to its statistics. 　The chronic trade deficit in t

May 31, 2018

Prosecution seeks arrest warrant for chief of KEB Hana Bank

The prosecution has filed for an arrest warrant for KEB Hana Bank chief Ham Young-joo over job-related irregularities, prosecution officials said Wednesday.The request for a warrant came nearly two months after the financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), said its own investigation has found at least 32 cases of alleged hiring irregularities at the bank.In 2013, the bank hired 229 college graduates, 32 of whom were hired after allegedly receiving recommendations from the bank

May 30, 2018

Samsung's financial units to sell off Electronics shares on breach woes

Two financial units under the Samsung conglomerate -- Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance -- unveiled plans Wednesday to sell off their Samsung Electronics shares by Thursday.Samsung Life Insurance, holding 8.23 percent of Samsung Electronics as of Wednesday, will sell off some 23 million shares worth 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion), so that its ownership ratio will decrease to 7.92 percent, its regulatory filing showed.Also, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance will se

May 30, 2018

Mirae Asset’s outbound strategy pays out in global market

From its very early years, South Korea’s leading asset management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments has kept ahead of its competitors in expanding business overseas -- a strategy turning out to be rewarding in recent years.The company has launched an asset management firm in Vietnam this year in partnership with the Southeast Asian country’s State Capital Investment Corporation, expanding its business leverage in the area, according to officials.“Based on our research capacit

May 30, 2018

Samsung Securities survey indicates HNWI's inclination for foreign investment

High-net-worth-individuals who subscribe to private banking products were more inclined to invest in foreign countries than domestic, showed a survey by Korea’s brokerage house Samsung Securities. The survey was based on responses by 100 private bankers in Samsung Securities. The respondents‘ answers reflected thoughts of HNWIs -- who hold over 100 million won ($92,700) in assets individually -- according to the company. Seventy-eight of the respondents said their HNWIs picked foreig

May 29, 2018

QARASoft launches AI-powered app beta for financial market forecasting

South Korean financial technology startup QARASoft on Tuesday launched a beta version of an artificial intelligence-powered application to forecast financial market movements. Dubbed “Kosho,” the robo adviser app is expected to offer a prediction for the following week, based on over 400 million financial market indicators for the last 30 years, accumulated and analyzed by QARASoft’s deep learning engine, Market Dreamer. Market Dreamer offers quantitative analyses for stock mar

May 29, 2018

Regulators to cross check foreign stock transactions

South Korea’s financial regulator unveiled Monday plans to create an electronic system to track real-time foreign stock transactions and changes in outstanding stocks, in order to ramp up oversight of securities trade here amid growing public distrust in the current system and hostility against short selling. Through a newly created monitoring system, the Korea Securities Depository would cross-check the volume of outstanding stocks reported by the custodian bank of each foreign investor,

May 28, 2018

SC offers maximum 1.7% rate to investors looking to park cash

Amid widening market volatility on looming rate hikes at home and abroad, investors have been taking to money market accounts to park their cash. One of such accounts by Standard Chartered Bank Korea, the local unit of the London-based banking group, offer investors not only a place to park cash, but also interest rate up to 1.7 percent a year before tax. South Korea’s current base rate is 1.5 percent.Subscribers to the bank’s “SC My Zoom Account” are offered a maximum of

May 28, 2018

Head office of Samsung Securities raided in 'fat-finger' probe

Prosecutors raided the headquarters of Samsung Securities Co. on Monday as part of an investigation into last month's massive dividend error by an accidental stock issuance worth over 110 trillion won ($100 billion). Investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office were sent to search the premises in Seocho, southern Seoul, and four other branches to confiscate evidence, including documents and digital files, the office said. Prosecutors are investigating the stock blunder

May 28, 2018