KAMCO broadens cooperation with Asian markets on bad loan management
KAMCO CEO Jeong Jeong-hoon, fifth from right, poses with Tran Trung Dung, chairman of the members' council of the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), fifth from left, and other key officials, April 23, after signing a supplementary appendix to the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in institutional operations in Hanoi, Vietnam. Courtesy of KAMCO
The Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) is expanding its cooperation with Asian financial authorities, drawing on nearly three decades of experience managing nonperforming loans (NPL) to help countries strengthen their financial systems, the state-run agency said Monday.
Vietnam offers a clear example of that approach. In April, KAMCO signed a consulting agreement worth around $400,000 with the Asian Development Bank to help establish a legal framework for asset-backed securities (ABS) in the country.
Over the next 25 months, the agency is set to assess Vietnam’s financial and legal environment, recommend regulatory improvements and help develop guidelines for issuing ABS. The project will also include training programs to strengthen local expertise.
KAMCO is working to improve the infrastructure for actual transactions as well. In a consortium with Shinhan DS, it is undertaking a 2.5 billion won ($1.86 million) project to upgrade the Vietnam Asset Management Company’s online platform for NPL trading.
The agency is also extending its work beyond individual markets through a broader partnership with the South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) Research and Training Centre.
In May, KAMCO held a training program on NPL resolution in Cambodia in cooperation with SEACEN. The two organizations signed a memorandum of understanding in Malaysia in September to deepen collaboration on financial stability, including sharing research and policy information and facilitating exchanges among financial professionals.
KAMCO and the Bank of Korea are scheduled to host a training program in Busan in October for officials from SEACEN member economies.
“Korea accumulated extensive experience in managing nonperforming loans as it worked through financial crises,” KAMCO Chairman and CEO Jeong Jeong-hoon said. “We are expanding international cooperation to help other countries apply that experience in ways suited to their own financial conditions.”