Progressive new FSS chief pledges consumer protection

The new governor of the Financial Supervisory Service in his inauguration speech Monday stressed a need to bolster autonomy as a regulator and enhance consumer protection. Kim Ki-sik, a new chief regulator of financial institutions who took office Monday, succeeded the role of Choe Heung-sik, who offered to step down on March 12. Ex-governor Choe‘s resignation came amid growing allegations of irregularities and abuse of power in the process of hiring entry-level employees at Hana Financial

April 2, 2018

BOK chief to focus on stability in financial system

Korea's central bank chief said Monday that the country's monetary policy tools will be used to support the economy and maintain financial stability at the same time."It is necessary to manage monetary policy in such a way as to make the financial system more stable and help the momentum for recovery," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in an inaugural ceremony for his second four-year term. He was reappointed by President Moon Jae-in last month."The central bank will keep the ac

April 2, 2018

Banks downsize staff, branches by greatest number since 2000

Local banks reduced their workforces and branch offices last year by the greatest number since 2000, with digitalization-driven downsizing accelerating, data from the financial regulator showed Sunday.The number of employees in the banking sector at the end of last year totaled 111,173, down 3,602 from the previous year, according to the data from the Financial Statistics Information System operated by the regulator Financial Supervisory Service. The level of downsizing is the biggest since 5,20

April 1, 2018

Banks' home rental loans jump 38.5% in Feb.

Loans extended by the nation's five major banks to individuals for home rentals jumped 38.5 percent on-year in February amid the government's tightening of mortgages for new homes, according to industry data Saturday. Outstanding loans extended by the five lenders, including Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, specifically for home rentals amounted to about 49 trillion won ($46.1 billion) as of the end of last month, up 13.6 trillion won from a year ago, the data showed.  The rise is apparently

March 31, 2018

Veteran civic activist nominated to lead financial watchdog

South Korea's top financial regulator on Friday nominated a veteran civic activist and former lawmaker to head the Financial Supervisory Services, officials said.Kim Ki-sik, 52, who had served various posts at the nongovernmental organization People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy until 2011, was tapped for the post, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement.If President Moon Jae-in approves Kim's nomination, he will succeed Choe Heung-sik, who resigned earlier this month ov

March 30, 2018

Marginal companies on rise: BOK

The number of marginal companies stuck in the financial quagmire with little room for profitability growth has been on the rise, further bogging down the economy as it anticipates rate hikes, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday. Korea refers to firms with interest costs outweighing operating profits for at least three consecutive years as “marginal companies.”The number of such firms in 2016 came to 3,126, taking up 14.2 percent of all Korean non-financial firms subject to external au

March 29, 2018

Seoul stresses currency deal with US on separate track

Korea reiterated on Thursday that it has been in talks with the United States to improve the transparency of the country's currency market, once again stressing that the discussion is not related to the bilateral trade deal with the world's largest economy."The currency rate issue is not a bilateral one. It should rather be dealt with in a multilateral frame," said a senior official at the finance ministry, asking not to be named.The official said Seoul has expressed "deep" r

March 29, 2018

Fed to raise rate hike goal to 4 times in June: analyst

The US central bank is expected to raise its target number of rate hikes for this year to four times from the present three at its policy meeting in June, a local securities company said Wednesday.Last week, the US Fed raised the federal funds rate to 1.50-1.75 percent as widely expected, saying it has plans to jack up the rate two more times within the year. "Expectations for the Fed's four rate rises for this year are already reflected in interest rate futures," Lee Mi-seon, a resear

March 28, 2018

Korean offshore banking units to send high dividends to parent company

Banking units in South Korea wholly owned by foreign financial giants are expected to send about 35-40 percent of their net profit to their respective parent companies outside Korea through dividends. The banking entities have said the dividend payouts stemmed from a surge in net revenue and adequate capital buffer in 2017. In a board of directors’ meeting on March 14, Standard Chartered Bank Korea increased its dividend propensity to about 40 percent of net income in 2017, from 35.6

March 27, 2018

Home appliance maker stocks surge on air pollution woes

Fine dust that engulfed the Korean Peninsula in recent days and the following government contingency measures have stirred sharp upward moves Monday in the stock prices of South Korean producers of home appliances like air purifiers and humidifiers. Air purifier maker Coway, listed on the top-tier Kospi, jumped 3.2 percent from the previous trading day. Another purifier maker Dayou Winia, trading on the second-tier Kosdaq, climbed up 6.5 percent. The share price increase was also seen for other

March 26, 2018

[Monitor] Impact of NK’s nuke test on value of won more significant last year

The depreciation of the won that is usually detected upon North Korea’s nuclear tests was more substantial last year, when Pyongyang conducted its seventh test in September, a report by the Bank of Korea showed.The research team of the central bank reviewed changes in exchange rates over five working days after each of North Korea’s nuclear tests between March 2008 and Sept. 2017.The report noted that the steeper depreciation upon the latest nuclear test appears to have been impacted

March 25, 2018

[Herald Interview] Facing regulatory bar at home, QARASoft robo adviser heads overseas

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 12th installment. - Ed.Regulatory hurdles were high for local financial technology venture firm QARASoft, as its investment platform, the first of its kind in South Korea, was suspended shortly after its launch last year.QARASoft’s now-defunct platform, called “QARA,” connected individual asset managers with funds pooled -- or borrowed -- from peer-to-pe

March 25, 2018

Overseas stock funds keep drawing money this year

South Korean funds for overseas stock investment have continued to attract money this year thanks to strong bourses in Vietnam, Brazil and other emerging markets, data showed Sunday.The net money inflow into overseas equity-linked investment funds stood at 1.75 trillion won ($1.62 billion) this year as of Thursday, according to data from market tracker KG Zeroin.Those funds brought in more than 1 trillion won in January alone, with the net inflow reaching over 420 billion and 260 billion won in

March 25, 2018

KOSPI takes big hit from Sino-US trade war

South Korea's key stock index had its biggest fall in more than six years on Friday in the wake of a brewing trade war between the United States and China, data showed Sunday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 79.26 points, or 3.18 percent, to 2,416.76 on Friday, the biggest daily loss since Nov. 10, 2011, when a debt crisis engulfed some European countries, according to the data from the Korea Exchange.It also marked the 15th-largest daily drop since 1987, when the bourse o

March 25, 2018

Bank mortgage rates gain in line with US rate rises

South Korean banks' mortgage rates have been on the rise over the past year in tandem with US rate hikes, market sources said Sunday.Those rates, charged on home-backed loans, are widely projected to go up further down the road if the US central bank sticks to its hawkish policy stance.According to the sources, Nonghyup Bank has posted benchmark mortgage rates on mortgages at a range of 3.6 percent and 4.94 percent, which will go into effect from Monday.The new rates, which will remain fixed for

March 25, 2018

Seoul shares to move in tight range next week amid protectionist concerns

South Korean shares are expected to move in a tight range next week as investors remain cautious due to growing concerns over trade protectionism by major economies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index is likely to stay between 2,460 and 2,540, as export-oriented stocks remain vulnerable to the looming trade dispute between Washington and Beijing. In response to the Trump government's plan to impose 25 percent tariffs on US$50 billion worth of Chinese imports, China said it may raise

March 24, 2018

New NH brokerage arm CEO to bolster investment banking biz

The new chief executive of NH Investment & Securities said in a press conference Friday that he would bolster the securities firm’s investment banking division, in a move to maintain growth that began to take shape in the past few years on the back of business diversification. Jeong Young-chae, who took office as CEO of NH Investment & Securities on Thursday, revealed that the firm plans to reap 190 billion won ($175.6 million) in net profit this year solely from its IB business, a

March 23, 2018

New chief of Kosdaq committee vows to nurture ‘market of future’

The newly appointed head of a committee for South Korea’s second-tier bourse Kosdaq vowed Wednesday to nurture the exchange into a “market of the future” and distinguish its role from that of the top-tier Kospi market. “We will discover more small and mid-sized venture firms with high potential for growth and give them wider opportunities for initial public offerings,” said Khil Jae-uk, chairman of the Kosdaq Market Committee, at a press conference.  The news c

March 21, 2018

[Advertorial] Citibank Korea celebrates 1st year after launch of mobile UPL

Citibank Korea kicked off a customer event Monday to celebrate the first year since the launch of its unsecured personal loan product for salaried employees offered through its mobile app.As part of the celebration, Citibank Korea is running the event in which those who apply for the mobile loans by March 31 will be randomly selected to receive gifts such as coffee vouchers and smartphones. In addition, those who apply for the product by March 31 will be given 0.5 percentage point rate bonuses a

March 21, 2018

S. Korean investment in Vietnam soars 500% in 10 years: data

South Korean financial companies’ investments in Vietnam have grown by more than 500 percent over the past 10 years, in particular marking an uptick since last year, on the back of President Moon Jae-in’s Southeast Asia-friendly initiative, data showed Monday.The volume of investments made by domestic financial companies to the Southeast Asian state stood at $123 million last year, up 509.88 percent from 10 years prior, according to statistics from the Overseas Economic Research Inst

March 19, 2018