Financial subsidiaries of major business groups are likely to face stern regulatory inquiries over their governance structure, financial authorities said.The chaebol-based financial sectors mostly involve credit cards, insurance and securities, while laws on the commercial banking sector strictly ban the industrial (or non-financial) capital from becoming majority shareholders of banks.Aside from the banking regulations, the Financial Services Commission is poised to bolster shareholder-eligibil

May 22, 2013

The financial regulator said Tuesday that it has decided to relieve about 5 percent from the blacklist of 2.36 million credit delinquents, who were hit by the 1997 Asian foreign exchange crisis.The rescue package for some credit defaulters comes under policy direction of the Park Geun-hye administration to give aid to low-income households, said the Financial Services Commission.Out of the 2.36 million individuals that were blacklisted between 1997 and 2001, the FSC initially screened some 114,0

May 21, 2013

The Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday that it issued a caution against Hanwha General Insurance for allegedly seeking to conceal the leakage of customers’ information in the aftermath of hacker attacks.Though the nonlife insurance unit of Hanwha Group saw personal information totaling about 157,000 cases leaked due to an hacking incident between March and May 2011, it hid the fact at least for one year until September 2012, said FSS officials.Further, it has been found that Hanwha Gene

May 16, 2013

The Financial Supersory service will implement consumer-initiated inquiries in the coming weeks, officials said Thursday.Over the past two months under initiative of Governor Choi Soo-hyun, the FSS has mapped out details of the system, under which consumers are entitled to request the regulator to conduct probes into financial firms.“We will soon unveil measures to effectively introduce the system,” an official said. “Its implementation date will also be publicized as soon as a deliberative boar

May 16, 2013

Korea Exchange Bank said Wednesday that it opened a branch in Istanbul, Turkey, becoming the first in the nation’s banking industry to enter the country.The commercial bank said it planned to offer funding to Korea’s big firms operating in the city such as Hyundai Motor, Samsung Electronics and POSCO.It is also pinning hopes on the free trade agreement between South Korea and Turkey, which took effect on May 1, 2013.KEB chief executive Yun Yong-ro stressed that the lender had advanced into its f

May 15, 2013

STX Corp. averted default as its creditors on Tuesday agreed to provide the financially distressed company with bailout funds totaling 300 billion won ($270 million).The 300 billion won is composed of funding for the 200 billion-won-worth corporate bonds issued by STX Corp., which matured on Tuesday, and 100 billion won in emergency relief funds, said its main creditor Korea Development Bank.Over the past week, the state-run KDB and other creditors have been in a series of heated discussions whe

May 14, 2013

Commercial banks saw their outstanding loans extended to the household sector snowball about 1 trillion won ($909 million) in April from a month earlier, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Sunday.After falling 3.4 trillion won in January and 1.5 trillion won in February, the combined lending balance in the banking sector started to climb again from March, when the loans increased by 100 billion won on a monthly basis.In April, the banks’ outstanding loans came to 460.6 trillion w

May 12, 2013

Financial regulators are set to crack down on irregular business practices committed by financial service companies to help prevent consumers from being bullied.The supervisory policy toward enhanced consumer protection comes after angry citizens recently criticized an employee of Namyang Dairy Products for verbally abusing a wholesaler in the manufacturing sector.The irregular practices in the financial sector include commercial banks allegedly demanding unreasonable conditions in loan issuance

May 9, 2013

The nation’s securities regulator said Wednesday that it had filed a complaint against Woongjin Group chairman Yoon Seok-keum with the prosecution on charges of attracting investment while concealing its poor financial status.Though Woongjin Group had lost its ability to pay back its debt in the aftermath of a credit rating downgrade, Yoon raised funds by issuing commercial paper worth 100 billion won ($91 million) from July to August 2012, said the Securities and Futures Commission.According to

May 8, 2013

A two-day annual conference of financial leaders in Asia will be held in Seoul on Thursday on the auspices of KB Financial Group.KB Financial said Wednesday that it invited 116 chief executives and senior regulatory officials for the 2013 Institute of International Finance Asia CEO Summit, slated for May 9-10 at the Westin Chosun Hotel in downtown Seoul.Following the Bangkok meeting a year before, the annual gathering in Seoul will cover three major agenda ― Asia & the World, Asian Financial Sys

May 8, 2013