Credit card firms threatened to suspend payment services for customers “based on interest-free installment” later this month yet again, in response to retailers’ refusal to share “marketing event expenses.”Samsung, Hyundai, Hana SK and Lotte will halt the interest-free payment services starting on Feb. 17 with the other two ― BC and KB Kookmin ― following suit at the end of this month.While the credit card industry called on retailers to account for at least 50 percent of interest costs offered

Feb. 7, 2013

Commercial banks’ profitability and earnings fell to their lowest since the 2009 global financial crisis due mainly to low interest rates.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Korean banks saw their three major indices for profitability mark a three-year low in 2012.“The banking industry reported a worse performance in three indices ― return on assets (0.49 percent), return on equity (6.41 percent) and net interest margin (2.1 percent),” the FSS said in a statement.The weak profitabili

Feb. 6, 2013

South Korean stocks ended almost flat on Wednesday as the prolonged currency volatility and North Korea’s threat of a nuclear test continued to weigh down the market, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 0.1 percent, or 1.99 points, to 1,936.19. Trading volume was moderate at 342.9 million shares worth 3.5 trillion won ($3.3 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 461 to 338.“Despite the gains on Wall Street overnight,

Feb. 6, 2013

The nation’s financial regulator has bolstered its monitoring on conglomerates’ transactions with subcontractors amid the Korean won’s strong position against the Japanese yen.The policy of the Financial Supervisory Service reflects worries over the possibility that big firms could hand over their losses from declining exports amid weaker price competitiveness to subcontractors.In the past, conglomerates changed their settlement currency from the won to the dollar in paying for subcontractors’ p

Feb. 5, 2013

Financial regulatory officials have been in internal discussions about taking punitive measures against Hyundai Card for alleged business irregularities.Though few of Hyundai Card’s irregular practices have yet been made public, there is a high possibility that a “caution” or “warning” will be issued to the credit card issuer, according to market observers.The Financial Supervisory Service conducted an investigation into Hyundai Card by dispatching inspectors to its headquarters in the fourth qu

Feb. 4, 2013

Equities in the nation’s bourse are posting low profitability while major stock markets overseas have taken on a bullish trend.Korea’s “decoupling” from major countries in stocks has continued over the past four weeks, with its price-earnings ratio, measuring share profitability, recording a rather low 8.69.Hong Kong posted a P/E ratio of 16.07, followed by Taiwan with 14.52, the U.S. with 13.68, Australia with 13.15, Japan with 12.95, France with 11.39, the U.K. with 11.29, Germany with 11.24 a

Feb. 3, 2013

Woori Financial Group saw its 2013 brand ranking, assessed by The Banker, climb more than 300 notches from last year.Woori ranked 77th in the yearly list of the top 500 banking brands by The Banker, a London-based financial magazine, a jump from 389th in 2012.Shinhan Financial Group and KB Financial Group took the positions of 51st (57th in 2012) and 65th (76th in 2012), respectively.Hana Financial Group, which acquired Korea Exchange Bank a year ago, also made the list at No. 116. Last year Woo

Feb. 3, 2013

Officials in the Finance Ministry and Statistics Korea have raised the possibility that the sagging economy will gradually vitalize in the coming months, citing favorable indices in the industrial sector.They took a prudent stance, however, on publicizing a positive outlook. They stressed that “as uncertainties at home and abroad still remain,” risk factors must be closely monitored to attain national economic recovery.Concerning the December data for industrial output from the state-run Statist

Jan. 31, 2013

The nation’s financial regulator is looking into the allegation that former Shinhan Financial Group chairman Ra Eung-chan had illicitly used more borrowed-name bank accounts than were revealed about two years ago.“We are reviewing documents to verify whether the allegation is true,” an official of the Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday.But he said the FSS has yet to decide whether to launch a re-investigation into Ra’s irregularities, after he was already reprimanded by the regulator for

Jan. 29, 2013

The next chief financial regulator is expected to push forward privatization of Woori Financial Group amid lawmakers’ movement to retrieve taxpayers’ money, which was injected into the group.As Kim Seok-dong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, recently expressed his intention to resign, the incoming Park Geun-hye administration is poised to appoint his successor as the chief regulator.Kim had maintained his position that Woori Financial should be sold through a “block deal,” under wh

Jan. 28, 2013

Four major financial groups are estimated to see their collective earnings in 2012 drop by 25 percent, or about 2.6 trillion won ($2.4 billion), from a year earlier, according to researchers’ forecast data.FnGuide, an online financial data provider, predicted Friday that the four groups ― Woori, KB, Hana and Shinhan ― will post 7.8 trillion won in their combined net profit, down from 10.4 trillion won in 2011.All four groups are scheduled to make public their 2012 earnings on Feb. 7.Shinhan Fina

Jan. 25, 2013

The National Pension Fund said Thursday that it will vote against Dong-A Pharmaceutical’s plan to spin off its core business unit at the coming shareholders’ meeting on Jan. 28.The pension fund, a main shareholder of the drug producer with a stake of 9.5 percent, pointed to “uncertainty” in terms of securing shareholders’ rights under the possible spinoff.Dong-A Pharmaceutical is seeking to establish a holding company and put its cash cow energy drink business, Bacchus, under an unlisted firm.Th

Industry Jan. 24, 2013

Cash cards that use magnetic strips for transactions will be partially banned at automated teller machines starting Feb. 1.Under regulatory countermeasures to minimize financial scams including forgery of credit cards or cash cards, the Financial Supervisory Service has advised consumers to replace their magnetic cards with “integrated circuit” cards over the past year.“As an initial step, cash transactions with magnetic-strip cards will not be available at about 50 percent of ATMs at financial

Jan. 23, 2013

Korea is expected to bear a critically heavy financial burden in caring for elderly people in the coming decades, compared with major developed countries.According to forecasts and data from the U.N. and Statistics Korea, three Koreans, engaging in “core” GDP production activities, financially support a senior person older than 64 years on average as of 2013.“The population engaging in core economic activities refers to individuals aged between 25 and 49,” a Statistics Korea official said. “Thos

Jan. 22, 2013