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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

KDB maps out Busan relocation plan as protests intensify

Union members of the Korea Development Bank stage protest against the banks relocation plan to Busan, near the presidential office in Seoul, March 10. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungThe controversial relocation plan of Korea Development Bank (KDB) is taking shape, as the state-run lender prepares to take specific administrative steps by the end of June.According to a KDB report submitted to Rep. Kang Min-kuk of the ruling People Power Party, the bank has formulated its relocation plan from Seoul to the nation's southeastern port city of Busan.The bank will seek consultations for the plan until May and submit a specific relocation vision to the relevant authorities around June, according to the report. The lender also stressed the need to revise the KDB Act for the smooth progress of relocation.“We face difficulty in mapping out specific relocation plans due to backlash from employees and revision of the law,” KDB said in the report.The bank must be legally designated as an

Mar 17, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
KDB maps out Busan relocation plan as protests intensify

FSS to inspect Yuanta, Hyundai Motor Securities, Hanwha Asset and NH-Amundi Asset

The headquarters of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in Yeouido, Seoul / YonhapBy Anna J. Park The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has selected Yuanta Securities and Hyundai Motor Securities as brokerages for regular inspection this year. The FSS conducts inspections of financial firms once every several years, looking into overall business operations, structures and internal systemic issues.It is expected that this year's inspections of the two medium-sized brokerage firms will assess their capital soundness, particularly their real estate project financing (PF). With many local securities companies holding varied exposures to the real estate PF market, the financial authority aims to closely examine the risk factors and liquidity reserves of the firms. The average delinquency rate in real estate PF loans by securities companies rose to 8.2 percent, at the end of last September, which is more than double from the end of 2021. It will be the first regular inspection for Yuanta since 2014 and the first for Hyundai Motor Securities since 2011. Local asset managers, Hanwha As

Mar 16, 2023By Anna J. Park
FSS to inspect Yuanta, Hyundai Motor Securities, Hanwha Asset and NH-Amundi Asset

Time to discuss initial exchange offering: Dunamu chief

Dunamu CEO Lee Sirgoo, second from right in the front row, poses with lawmakers and experts in the fields of finance and law during the Digital Assets Conference 2023 in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of DunamuBy Lee Min-hyungKorea should start an in-depth discussion on the initial exchange offering (IEO) for the innovative growth of the digital asset industry here, Dunamu CEO Lee Sirgoo said Thursday. “The government displayed its willingness to push the agenda forward, but we need further discussion on the IEO which has not been thoroughly discussed,” Lee said during the Digital Assets Conference 2023 hosted by the operator of Korea's dominant crypto exchange, Upbit. “We also have to encourage innovative blockchain companies to proactively expand their footing in the nascent security token market and create innovation in the digital finance sector.”He also underscored the need for the government and market participants to see the digital asset market from a different perspective, as trading of digital assets is not restricted by border and time.A group of lawmake

Mar 16, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Time to discuss initial exchange offering: Dunamu chief

Seoul mayor woos London firms for investment

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon delivers an opening speech for the “2023 London Conference: Startups from Seoul” event at the London Stock Exchange, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentKorean fintech firms worth investment, Oh says at London Stock Exchange By Ko Dong-hwanSeoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon promoted Seoul and Korean startups at London Stock Exchange, Tuesday (local time), assuring high returns on investments.Oh is on a four-nation European trip that will also bring him to the cities of Dublin, Hamburg and Copenhagen.Describing Seoul as a center of digital finance in Asia, the mayor said in his opening speech at the “2023 London Conference: Startups from Seoul,” that the city has one of the world's highest rates of residents using digital financing services such as online banking on a daily basis thanks to great infrastructure, which helps Seoul's high growth potential in the digital financial industry.The event was co-hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and London Stock Exchange. Present at the conference were London Stock Exchange

Mar 15, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan
Seoul mayor woos London firms for investment

Daishin acquires controlling stake in Korean real estate securities exchange

By Lee Min-hyungDaishin Securities headquarters in Seoul / YonhapDaishin Financial Group has acquired a controlling stake in a Seoul-based real estate securities trading platform, as part of its first step for business expansion into security tokens transactions.The financial group claimed a 90-percent stake in Kasa and the latter's management right, Wednesday, with a view to generating synergy with its conventional financial businesses, the company said.The decision came about a month after Korea's financial authority approved the issuance and distribution of security tokens earlier last month. The security token refers to a kind of cryptocurrency for the trading of fractions of assets, such as real estate and art.“Daishin's ability in sorting out blue chip property will create synergy with Kasa's platform competitiveness,” an official from Daishin said. “We will continue seeking new growth engines through the acquisition of Kasa.”Daishin will advance these new forms of investment to its customers following the deal. In particular, the company is set to provi

Mar 15, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Daishin acquires controlling stake in Korean real estate securities exchange

Record loss prompts relocation debate on pension operator's investment division

The headquarters of the National Pension Service (NPS) in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province is pictured in this undated file photo. A total of 164 investment professionals at the state-run pension operator quit since 2017 when it moved its headquarters from Seoul to Jeonju. Korea Times fileNPS headquarters in provincial city cited as factor undermining workers' moraleBy Yi Whan-wooThe record investment loss suffered by the National Pension Service (NPS) has sparked a debate over whether its investment division should be relocated back to Seoul from Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, to foster a more favorable working environment.The NPS, the state-run pension operator, posted an 8.22 percent loss ― equivalent to 79.6 trillion won ($60.19 billion) ― on its rate of return on investment in 2022, marking its worst stint in the red since 1999 when it launched a division exclusively tasked with operating the fund.The NPS argued that the return rate on investment is largely due to global financial market doldrums and that it fared relatively well compared to pension operators in some advanced econo

Mar 15, 2023By Yi Whan-woo
Record loss prompts relocation debate on pension operator's investment division

Average annual salary at internet-only lenders tops W100 mil.

The logo of the country's largest internet-only lender KakaoBank / YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooThree digital banks in Korea pay around 100 million won ($76,000) in average annual salary to their employees, the companies said Tuesday in their respective reports. The biggest of the three, KakaoBank said its executives and rank-and-file employees received 107 million won on average in 2022.K bank said the average annual salary for its entire 489 employees amounted to 96 million won last year, up from 80 million won a year earlier.Toss Bank paid the highest salary among the three internet-only banks, with its figure averaging 119 million won. Toss Bank's average salary increased last year nearly two-fold from a year earlier. This was seen as a surprise considering it was launched in October 2021.Both KakaoBank and K Bank were established in 2016.“We mostly hired experienced employees when we launched our business to quickly catch up in the industry and that's possibly why our salary is relatively high compared to our competitors,” Toss Bank said.The salary paid by Toss Bank is larger

Mar 14, 2023By Yi Whan-woo
Average annual salary at internet-only lenders tops W100 mil.

Securities firms seeking more female directors

Seen above are office buildings in Seoul's financial district of Yeouido. gettyimagesbankBy Lee Min-hyungSecurities firms are set to prioritize the appointment of female outside directors during their regular shareholders' meetings this month, in a move to enhance their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management. The ratio of females on boards, however, still falls short of the average of other industries.According to the securities industry, major brokerage houses will start holding the meetings later this week. A reshuffle of top management used to top the agenda, but this will no longer be the case this year, as most securities firms decided to focus on ensuring stability in this period of financial uncertainty.Meritz Securities, which rose as the nation's most profitable securities firm last year, plans to appoint its first female outside director, Yang Jae-seon, who is currently working as a lawyer at Yulchon. She is also taking on a role as an independent director at Meritz Asset Management. She holds expertise in handling legal finance tasks, and worked as

Mar 14, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Securities firms seeking more female directors

US court grants bail to former Lone Star official

This Nov. 11, 2006 file photo shows Lone Star's signboard in a building located in Gangnam, Seoul. YonhapThe former Seoul branch chief of Lone Star, who led the U.S. equity fund's controversial acquisition of a Korean bank nearly two decades ago, has been released on bail, the Ministry of Justice said Tuesday.Steven Lee, a Korean American who headed the branch office from 1998 to 2005, was arrested in New Jersey on March 2, 17 years after the Seoul government had asked the U.S. authorities to extradite him. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted bail to Lee last Wednesday, with the condition that he wears an ankle monitor and lives at an address approved by the court, officials said.The ministry said it will continue to cooperate with authorities so that Lee undergoes an extradition trial.The Texas-based Lone Star took over the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) at a below-market price in 2003 and sold it to the Seoul-based Hana Financial Group in 2012, earning a hefty profit from the transaction.Lee is suspected of playing a key role in dealing with the purchase of KE

Mar 14, 2023
US court grants bail to former Lone Star official

Korean financial groups frustrated over growing bureaucratic control

Major players face mounting pressure ahead of shareholders' meetingsBy Lee Min-hyungKorea's major financial companies stand at a critical crossroads ahead of their regular shareholders' meetings this month, facing mounting political pressure to drastically reform their governance structures. This poses a serious dilemma for leading financial holding firms, such as KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NongHyup, even after they chalked up record earnings on steep rate hikes. A total of 30 out of 38 outside directors at the five financial institutions finish their terms around the end of March.They are widely expected to conduct major shake-ups of their boards of directors, abiding by escalating political pressure from President Yoon Suk Yeol and his administration, who have voiced complaints over banks' profit structures and their conservative governance systems.“It is a problem that outside directors stay on the board for a long period of time simply due to their intimacy with top management,” Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun said last month.In response, t

Mar 14, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Korean financial groups frustrated over growing bureaucratic control
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