The South Korean branches of foreign banks here saw their net profit last year grow 27.4 percent from the previous year, on the back of robust interest income, according to tracking data from the Financial Supervisory Service released Tuesday.The 38 global banks operating here, such as HSBC Bank, raised 867.3 billion won ($764 million) in 2018, marking a 27.4 percent increase from 186.6 billion won recorded the previous year, the data showed. During this time frame, their interest-led incom

Market April 2, 2019

South Korea’s financial regulatory sandbox policy went into effect Monday, with the Financial Services Commission selecting 19 innovative fintech services for “priority review.”The Financial Services Commission’s innovative finance review panel held its first meeting to decide on the first batch of fintech services to covered by the regulatory sandbox policy.The envisioned services span diverse categories including loans (five), insurance (two), capital market (three), ea

Market April 1, 2019

Despite the voluntary departure of the Kumho Asiana chairman last week, the main creditors of the conglomerate, which owns South Korea’s second-largest air carrier Asiana Airlines, have demanded that it sell off its high-value assets and draw up a solid loan repayment plan to improve liquidity.　The demands were pushed by Asiana Airlines’ main creditors, including the state-run Korea Development Bank, as a condition for their continued support in normalizing the airline’s financ

Industry March 31, 2019

South Korea’s “regulatory sandbox” policy for the finance sector will take effect next week, bringing in a system of flexible regulations with the goal of accelerating innovations in financial technology.　The Special Act on Financial Innovation Support was enacted in the legislature in November last year and formally takes effect April 1. Under the legislation, the Korean government is seeking to foster emerging startups in new business arenas -- especially the fintech sector,

Market March 28, 2019

South Korea’s fair trade authorities are investigating KT for alleged collusion in a government-issued business project -- a development that could hurt the telecom company’s chances of gaining approval to increase its stake in its internet-only bank, K bank.According to industry sources Wednesday, the Fair Trade Commission is currently investigating local telcos KT, SK Telecom, LG Uplus and Sejong Telecom on suspicions of collusion in a circuit line business project.KT has notified

Market March 27, 2019

Shinhan Bank’s newly appointed CEO Jin Ok-dong on Tuesday pledged a two-track strategy for the bank’s global push, calling for the formation of strong business assets in key currency markets such as the US and Japan while citing plans to build a locally competitive presence in emerging markets.　“I believe in a two-track strategy for the bank’s global expansion,” Jin said in his inaugural press conference at Shinhan Bank’s headquarters in Seoul. 　“One tra

Market March 26, 2019

SsangYong Motor is set to terminate its contracts with South Korean credit card companies on Tuesday if the two sides fail to conclude their card transaction fee negotiations before the due date, marking another high-profile standoff between a large firm and local card providers here.　The automaker has notified Shinhan Card, Samsung Card and Lotte Card -- among the biggest credit and debit card providers in Korea -- that their business ties will end if they do not agree to its transaction fee pr

Market March 25, 2019

Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s major commercial banks, said Friday that it has sold 2.7 percent of its stake in Woori Financial Holdings to foreign institutional investors in a block deal during off-trading hours.The bank has sold 18,346,782 shares to FIIs. As a result, Woori Financial Holdings’ stake ownership by foreign investors has increased from 27.5 percent -- as of Feb. 13, the day of its public listing -- to 30.2 percent.According to the bank, the block sale attracted high

Market March 22, 2019

KEB Hana Bank’s newly appointed CEO Ji Sung-kyoo on Thursday pledged to step up efforts to transform the South Korean commercial bank into a data-driven company backed by digitalization, while ramping up its global business push to widen its sources of income beyond the domestic market. 　“To become a trusted global bank, we want to go forward embracing digitalization as our left wing and globalization as our right wing,” Ji said in his inaugural press conference held at KEB Han

Market March 21, 2019

Shinhan Financial Group, a major banking group in South Korea, has dropped out of the internet-only bank consortium led by Viva Republica, the operator of the popular mobile money transfer app Toss. 　Viva Republica said Thursday that “Shinhan Financial has conclusively decided to not participate in the fintech firm’s consortium to establish an internet-only bank, due to differences in business direction.” According to the financial technology startup, since the two parties sign

Market March 21, 2019

Amid deepening controversy between large-sized retailers and credit card companies over card transaction fee hikes, South Korea’s chief financial regulator has taken a neutral stance, only stressing that it will press criminal charges if large companies break the law during negotiations.The Financial Services Commission on Tuesday laid out its stance on the issue that earned recent attention when Hyundai Motor’s fee discussions with local card firms led the automaker to terminate its

Market March 20, 2019

As South Korea prepares to welcome new players into the internet-only banking business, two consortiums have emerged as the main contenders for the upcoming bid -- led by Viva Republica and Kiwoom Securities.　Viva Republica, the company behind popular mobile money transfer app Toss, has formed a consortium with local finance and digital commerce powerhouses for the bid. The firms plan to finalize members of the consortium within this week and formally apply for an operational license.So far, it

Market March 19, 2019

South Korea’s major banking-finance groups are kicking off their annual shareholders meetings this week, with projections of smooth proceedings to formalize predetermined events including the appointment of new CEOs.The banking sector’s shareholders meetings this year see a stark change of mood from last year’s events, when high-stake issues such as group leadership changes and corporate governance problems were on the table.But the groups’ shareholders are also expected

Market March 18, 2019

Starting this week, South Korea’s financial watchdog is rolling out an artificial intelligence app for mobile devices that automatically detects “voice phishing” scams – a crime that last year conned members of the public out of a combined 444 billion won ($391 million).The Financial Supervisory Service, National Information Society Agency and the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea have co-developed an AI-based voice phishing detection app, which will start beta operation

Market March 17, 2019

M. Chat -- the grinning yellow cartoon cat created by renowned French graffiti artist Thoma Vuille -- has arrived in South Korea via a collaborative partnership with KB Koomin Bank, one of the country’s major commercial banks.KB Kookmin Bank on Thursday hosted a live performance featuring Vuille painting his signature M. Chat and KB’s flagship characters “Liiv” at the facilities of the KB Rockstar Youth Lounge, an arts and culture space run by the bank in Hongdae, Seoul.

Market March 14, 2019