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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.

Hana Bank's new CEO pledges to revamp sales portfolio

Hana Bank CEO Lee Seung-yeul / Courtesy of Hana BankBy Lee Min-hyungHana Bank's new CEO Lee Seung-yeul pledged to improve the bank's sales portfolio, as part of his core management strategy after taking office as its fourth leader on Monday. Lee is considered one of the most skilled financial experts in Hana Financial Group. He has worked at key financial and strategy-setting divisions of the banking group since joining the Korea Exchange Bank in 1991, which was later merged with Hana Bank. For three years from 2019, he was the group's chief financial officer. He then became chief of Hana Life Insurance in March 2022.Last month, the financial holding firm nominated Lee as the new leader of its cash-cow banking affiliate, saying that he is fit for preemptively dealing with looming financial uncertainties triggered by fears of a recession and lingering woes over the high levels of inflation here and abroad.He promised to enhance the lender's overall sales productivity by realigning its loan business portfolio and enhancing its expertise in wealth management and foreign exchange transac

Jan 2, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Hana Bank's new CEO pledges to revamp sales portfolio

Financial groups to focus on risk management

From left, KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung and NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Lee Suk-joonHana, Woori chiefs vows to strengthen non-banking businesses By Anna J. Park The heads of Korea's five major financial groups have a common focus in their New Year's messages: the importance of risk management and a sustainable growth strategy amid heightened economic risks.KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo stressed stable growth in his New Year's message, as he forecast the economy will witness a decline in real purchasing power and weakened consumer sentiment this year, with continuing uncertainties on both the global and domestic economic fronts.“Sustainable and stable growth summarizes KB Financial Group's key strategy for this year. What matters in the current phase, when a view for a step ahead is not visible, is to build fundamental strengths in preparation for a possible crisis,” Yoon said. On a similar note, Cho Y

Jan 2, 2023By Anna J. Park
Financial groups to focus on risk management

Kakao Entertainment to receive pre-IPO investment from PIF, GIC

Kakao Entertainment headquarters in southern Seoul / YonhapBy Anna J. Park Kakao Entertainment is facing an imminent investment worth 1 trillion won ($785 million) from major global investors in its pre-IPO round.According to the investment banking industry Monday, the entertainment company is soon expected to sign a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) this month. The PIF is led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and has shown interest in Korean content and game businesses, as it acquired stakes in Nexon and NCSOFT last year. The entertainment company's corporate value for this round of investment is valuated at around 10 trillion won. With the new capital, the company plans to accelerate its further growth. The company had pursued aggressive M&As in a wide range of areas during the past few years, enlarging its size. Its businesses range from K-pop management, intellectual property with webtoon and webnovel platforms and music streaming service. The firm acquired U.S.-based Tapas Media

Jan 2, 2023By Anna J. Park
Kakao Entertainment to receive pre-IPO investment from PIF, GIC

NongHyup Financial's new leader takes office

NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Lee Suk-joon responds to reporters' questions while entering the group's headquarters building in downtown Seoul, Monday, his first day on the job. Yonhap

Jan 2, 2023
NongHyup Financial's new leader takes office

Banking groups rush to attract wealthy customers

gettyimagesbank By Yi Whan-wooBanking groups are racing to attract wealthy customers as more rich individuals are parking their money in savings accounts due to the steep hike in the benchmark interest rate and a subsequent rise in the deposit rate.The nation's three largest financial groups ― KB, Shinhan and Hana ― are using their respective private banking (PB) centers and digital technology to offer tailor-made services in banking and securities among other products.They also offer cultural experiences, such as art and literature, to ensure selected customers feel like using offline banking services more often.KB Financial Group runs the nation's largest private banking center in Seoul's affluent district of Apgujeong.Called, KB Gold & Wise the First, the center is located in a seven-story building, with the first floor containing books and art as well as 15 consulting rooms and 1,400 vaults.The center targets clients with personal assets of more than 3 billion w

Dec 31, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Banking groups rush to attract wealthy customers

Shinhan Bank's new leader pledges 'customer-oriented digital innovation'

Shinhan Bank CEO Han Yong-gu speaks during a press conference at its headquarters in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Shinhan BankBy Lee Min-hyungShinhan Bank CEO Han Yong-gu pledged to speed up its much-hyped digital innovation strategy with the goal of transforming the lender into what he called an “invisible bank,” speaking to reporters during a press conference, Friday.“The ultimate goal of our digitalization is to build an environment where customers can experience financial services anytime, anywhere,” Han said. “We have also established a new banking as a service (Baas) division in the latest organizational reshuffle. We will soon set up an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered customer service center as part of a first step toward the grand vision. Shinhan will continue to enhance its software-driven digital capability.”The press conference was held shortly after Han took office as the new leader of the lender on the same day by replacing his predecessor Jin Ok-dong, who was nominated as Shinhan Financial Group's next chairman.“Under the for

Dec 30, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Shinhan Bank's new leader pledges 'customer-oriented digital innovation'

13% of Koreans unable to save money: survey

gettyimagesbankBy Yoon Ja-youngSetting a financial target is the first step to prepare for a better future, but three out of 10 Koreans say that is a luxury for them. Thirteen percent of Koreans find it impossible to save anything as their expenses exceed their incomes, a report showed.According to the 2023 financial consumer report released by the Hana Institute of Finance, Thursday, 86 percent of the 4.89 million won ($3,800) average monthly household income is spent each month on fixed expenses, which include insurance and mortgage payments. Based on a survey of 5,000 adults around the country, the report aims at examining the dynamic changes of financial consumers and their opinions of diverse current issues.As they are left with little money after deducting such fixed expenditures, three out of 10 respondents did not have a financial goal: 17.9 percent said that simply sustaining their living is burdensome to them, while 13.4 percent said they just don't have a financial goal. The ratio was especially high among the MZ Generation, which refers to millennials and Generation Z, sh

Dec 29, 2022By Yoon Ja-young
13% of Koreans unable to save money: survey

MBK signs deal to acquire digital dental solution provider

Medit's wireless oral scanner, i700 / Courtesy of MeditBy Lee Min-hyungMBK Partners has acquired Medit, a Seoul-based 3D dental scanner and solutions provider, for 2.4 trillion won ($1.89 billion), the private equity firm said Thursday.Under the contract, MBK Partners will acquire a 99.5 percent stake in Medit from its largest shareholder, Unison Capital. The acquisition took place about a month after MBK was picked as the preferred bidder for the high-profile deal which attracted a group of the world's renowned private equity and investment firms ― such as Carlyle, KKR and Blackstone.Medit founder Jang Min-ho and the firm's specially related parties also agreed to reinvest a considerable amount of revenue into the company. They will remain as joint investors with MBK. The deal is expected to close sometime around the first quarter of 2023.The acquisition took place amid projections of the dental scanner market here and abroad growing 30 percent each year until 2027.Medit is a global leader in the market for dental scanner solutions. The company secured a market share of 22 percent i

Dec 29, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
MBK signs deal to acquire digital dental solution provider

IBK set to appoint internal figure as next leader

Industrial Bank of Korea's headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Industrial Bank of KoreaBy Lee Min-hyungIBK Deputy CEO Kim Seong-taeThe Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) is set to appoint a new leader from within its ranks rather than parachuting in an outside figure, amid growing criticism over the government's long-held custom of nominating bureaucrats for the position.According to sources from the financial industry here, IBK Deputy CEO Kim Seong-tae is widely expected to replace outgoing CEO Yoon Jong-won when his term ends on Jan. 2. Kim joined IBK in 1989 and has handled a variety of key tasks in major divisions such as future planning and strategy. He has also worked as CEO of IBK Capital.Earlier, Jeong Eun-bo, former governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, was rumored to fill the position due to his broad range of experience working for major financial authorities. But given that he is a ranking financial figure nominated by former President Moon Jae-in, the incumbent administration is known to have shied away from appointing him to the post.A strong backlash from IBK's un

Dec 29, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
IBK set to appoint internal figure as next leader

Korean firms face vulnerabilities in internal money controls: KPMG report

gettyimagesbank By Anna J. Park In matters of corporate accounting management, Korean corporations turn out to have particular weaknesses regarding internal money controls and irregularities caused by high-ranking management officials.This is according to a report published on Wednesday by Samjong KPMG, which surveyed internal accounting control systems conducted by 94 companies in Korea and 197 companies in the U.S. in 2021. The report compared the differences in the internal accounting control systems practiced in Korea and the U.S. Lack of internal money controls and irregularities by high-ranking corporate management officials together accounted for 30.3 percent of the reasons behind audit qualified opinions for the Korean companies surveyed in 2021. A qualified opinion is issued by an auditor upon finding deviations in a company's financial statements, and differs from an unqualified opinion, which is issued when the auditor finds the financial statements to b

Dec 28, 2022By Anna J. Park
Korean firms face vulnerabilities in internal money controls: KPMG report
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