금융감독원이 최근 BNP파리바은행 서울지점의 부당영업 행위에 대한 조사에 착수한 것으로 26일 확인됐다.

이 은행의 국내지점은 당국으로부터 인가를 받지 않은 상태에서 투자은행 업무를 해왔던 것으로 전해졌다.

국내법 및 감독규정은 증권 영역에 속하는 투자은행 업무와 일반은행업 사이의 방화벽 설치를 의무화하고 있다.

금융권의 고위 관계자는 “이를 무시한 비인가 영업은 법 위반에 속할 수 있다”며 “조사가 끝나봐야 알겠지만 금감원 제재는 불가피할 것”이라고 내다봤다.

금융투자업계에 따르면 BNP파리바 외에 또다른 외국계은행의 국내지점도 당국에 적발됐다. 이 은행 역시 업종간 겸업을 승인없이 영위한 혐의를 받고 있다.

(코리아헤럴드 / 정주원 기자)





<관련 영문기사>


BNP Paribas under probe for irregular business in Seoul


By Chung Joo-won

Financial regulators launched an investigation into the Korean unit of French-based BNP Paribas for engaging in allegedly unauthorized business practices, sources said Sunday.

The largest bank in France has operated an investment banking business in Seoul without regulators’ permission, multiple sources told The Korea Herald.

The banking regulations stipulate that there should be a strict firewall between the (commercial or corporate) banking and the investment banking units unless there is regulatory approval.

“The concurrent business of BNP Paribas’ Seoul branch with no authorization was recently detected by inspectors of the Financial Supervisory Service,” a financial industry source said.

Sources said -- aside from BNP Paribas -- the FSS was making inquiries into another foreign bank’s Korean unit for similar allegations.

No spokesperson for the local unit of BNP Paribas was available for comment.

Meanwhile, an executive in the financial sector who asked for anonymity argued that sometimes the state and a foreign bank don’t click.

“This is a case that can happen between a state regulator and a company from two different financial systems -- or codes -- in terms of doing investment banking services here,” he said.

However, despite a series of warnings and notifications on rules from financial authorities, some foreign financial firms have breached the nation’s laws or exploited the legal loopholes over the past few years.

Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland and DBS were admonished for unauthorized brokering or selling financial investment products. The Scottish RBS and Deutsche Bank were also caught for wrongful entrustment.

The Seoul branch of HSBC Holdings plc and Credit Agricole S.A. were issued a warning for violating the capital market laws, respectively.

The authorities found that several foreign bank branches relocated day-to-day trading operations involving their money to regional headquarters such as Hong Kong and Singapore.

In January 2013, the FSS took disciplinary measures against three foreign-owned brokerage firms -- Deutsche Securities Korea, Credit Suisse’s Korean operation and CLSA Korea -- for breaching real-name account rules. They were also issued a caution and levied some fines.

(joowonc@heraldcorp.com)