Business - The Korea Times

Credit Suisse's Korea operation aims to maintain key status amid restructuring plan

The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen at its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, March 24, 2021. Reuters-Yonhap By Anna J. ParkCredit Suisse announced a series of radical restructuring measures to revamp its global banking business on Thursday, after taking three months of thoroughly reviewing and reassessing its strategic future directions. The measures came as the Switzerland-headquartered bank posted its fourth straight quarterly loss for the third quarter of this year. According to its earnings announcement released earlier this week, the global lender lost $346 million in the third quarter alone, a drastic contrast from its $1 billion profit recorded a year ago.Countering months of market rumors of its possible crash, the bank's series of new strategic goals expressed its fresh determination to navigate through the current crisis by taking the drastic restructuring initiatives. According to the 166-year-old financial company, its new strategic goals wil

Oct 28, 2022By Anna J. Park

Credit Suisse's Korea operation aims to maintain key status amid restructuring plan

Shinhan's securities arm opens first office in Silicon Valley

Shinhan Securities CEO Lee Young-chang, second from left, poses while celebrating the firm's opening of an office in Silicon Valley, California, Oct. 25. Courtesy of Shinhan SecuritiesBy Lee Min-hyungShinhan Securities has opened an office in Silicon Valley, California ― the first among local brokerage houses ― with a view to enhancing its expertise in investment banking and its global startup network, the company said. According to the company, Shinhan Securities' Silicon Valley Representative Office started operating from Tuesday.The office will play a role as a bridgehead for Shinhan Financial Group to expand its global network and strengthen group-wide capabilities in investment banking, the Shinhan affiliate said. Shinhan Securities runs offices in the major cities of economic powerhouses and emerging economies, such as the United States, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia and China.The new office in the global tech hub is expected to help Shinhan establish a closer networking system with local startups and investors. The company also seeks fresh opportunities to find promising start

Oct 27, 2022By Lee Min-hyung

Shinhan's securities arm opens first office in Silicon Valley

KSD to host meeting of Asia-Pacific securities depositories

Korea Securities Depository (KSD) headquarters in Busan / Korea Times fileKorea Securities Depository (KSD) will host a meeting of the securities depositories of Asia-Pacific nations next month in Busan.According to the KSD, it will host the 24th Asia-Pacific Central Securities Depository (CSD) Group (ACG) meeting in Busan from Nov. 7 to 10. Established in 1997, the ACG is one of five regional central securities depository groups within the World Forum of CSDs. It aims at exchanges of information as well as cooperation among the central securities depositories within the region.Selected as its chair in 2017, the KSD successfully fulfilled its role to lead the Executive Committee of the ACG for three years. It improved the ACG's overall operations on top of strengthening exchanges with other CSD groups.The ACG meeting has been held once a year since its inaugural meeting in Hong Kong in 1997, offering a venue for securities and depository experts in Asia-Pacific to examine their achievements and establish future goals and strategies. KSD has hosted the ACG meeting twice so far ― one i

Oct 27, 2022

KSD to host meeting of Asia-Pacific securities depositories

Hana launches project to nurture digitally minded workers

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, fourth from right, and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun, fourth from left, pose with other participants of a project initiated by the banking group to foster young workers skilled in digital technologies, during a ceremony at Cheongna International City in Incheon, Thursday. The ceremony took place at the group's Cheongna training center, and was joined by the FSS, SK Telecom, Microsoft Korea, Amazon Web Services Korea and other parties committed to fostering digitally minded employees in key industries including finance. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Oct 27, 2022By Yi Whan-woo

Hana launches project to nurture digitally minded workers

Corporate direct financing dives in Sept. on fall in bond sale

Currency traders are seen at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul. AP-YonhapCorporate direct financing in Korea dived in September as bond issuance sharply shrank amid fast-rising borrowing costs, data showed Thursday.Local companies raised a combined 17.2 trillion won ($12.1 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, down 17.6 percent from a month earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.Direct financing refers to raising funds directly from the stock and bond markets without borrowing from banks or other financial institutions.Bond sales plunged 19.8 percent on-month to 16.4 trillion won in September, apparently affected by sharply rising borrowing costs due to the Bank of Korea's move to hike its policy rate to tame inflation.Meanwhile, funds raised through stock markets in September doubled to 763.1 billion won over the cited period, the data showed. (Yonhap)

Oct 27, 2022

Corporate direct financing dives in Sept. on fall in bond sale

KakaoBank to launch emergency response team following service outage

The interior of KakaoBank's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of KakaoBankBy Yi Whan-wooKakaoBank will launch an emergency response team led by its chief information officer (CIO), the company announced on Tuesday, in the wake of Kakao's unprecedented service outage earlier this month. The team will operate under the lender's counter-crisis division and take responsibility for taking emergency measures in the event of any future disasters that could affect banking operations directly or indirectly.Its members will include manager-level IT experts recruited from the firm.“We're deeply regretful for inconveniencing customers over the latest service outage,” KakaoBank said in a statement.It was referring to the meltdown of KakaoBank, Kakao Pay, KakaoTalk, KakaoMap Kakao T, Kakao Navi, Kakao Page, Kakao Webtoon, Melon and Kakao Games caused by a Oct. 15 battery fire at SK C&C's Pangyo building in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where parent company Kakao housed 32,000 servers.The services of Kakao and its affiliates have since been normalized. Still, Kak

Oct 25, 2022By Yi Whan-woo

KakaoBank to launch emergency response team following service outage

Shinhan overtakes KB in Q3 performance

Seen above are the headquarters of Korea's four major financial holding firms including KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori. Courtesy of the respective banksBy Yi Whan-wooShinhan Financial Group reaped the biggest gains among the nation's four major banking groups in the third quarter, outpacing KB Financial Group which saw a slight fall in profits but retains the top position by market capitalization.In a report released on Tuesday, Shinhan Financial Group said it posted a record-high quarterly net profit of 1.59 trillion won ($1.11 billion) in the July-September period, up 42.9 percent from a year earlier and up 20.8 percent from the April-June period this year.Its aggregate net profit from January to September amounted to 4.31 trillion won, up 21.2 percent year-on-year, and also higher than any first three quarters of a year combined.Meanwhile, KB Financial Group's net profit in the third quarter totaled 1.27 trillion won, down 2.1 percent from a year earlier and also down 2.5 percent from the April-June period this year.The country's largest banking group also lagged behind second-ranked

Oct 25, 2022By Yi Whan-woo

Mirae Asset joins Musk's Twitter acquisition deal

Mirae Asset Financial Group headquarters in central Seoul / Courtesy of Mirae Asset Financial GroupBy Anna J. ParkMirae Asset Global Investments will invest 300 billion won ($209 million) in Elon Musk's $44 billion Twitter acquisition deal. According to local investment banking industry sources, Tuesday, the asset management arm of Mirae Asset Financial Group has set up a fund worth 300 billion won as part of its plans to participate in Musk's Twitter buyout. Mirae Asset Securities is investing 210 billion won, while the remaining 90 billion won will be provided by Mirae Asset Capital and Global Investments. As Elon Musk has been ordered by the Delaware Chancery Court to close the acquisition deal by Friday 5 p.m. U.S. time, Mirae Asset is scheduled to send the money that day. Various U.S.-headquartered investment banks and major multinational financial institutions, including Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management, are joining the takeover deal as financial investors.Mirae Asset is known to have been planning to join the acquisition deal as a financial investor since April. But th

Oct 25, 2022By Anna J. Park

Mirae Asset joins Musk's Twitter acquisition deal

Credit Suisse to pay $234 million to settle French tax fraud case

The logo of Credit Suisse is seen at a building in the Brunau quarters in Zurich, Switzerland, in this Dec. 9, 2008, file photo. AP-YonhapFrench prosecutors said Monday that Credit Suisse has agreed to pay 238 million euros ($234 million) to settle tax fraud allegations, the latest blow for the embattled Swiss bank.The bank will pay 123 million euros in fines and 115 million in damages and interest to France, whose investigators will close an inquiry launched in 2016 on possible charges of aggravated tax fraud laundering and illegal soliciting, French prosecutor Jean-Francois Bohnert said in a statement.French media have reported that Credit Suisse representatives courted wealthy French customers to persuade them to open accounts with the bank that weren't declared to French tax authorities.Credit Suisse says it doesn't acknowledge criminal liability in the settlement.“The bank is pleased to resolve this matter, which marks another important step in the proactive resolution of litigation and legacy issues,” the company said in a statement.It comes just a week after Credit

Oct 24, 2022

Credit Suisse to pay $234 million to settle French tax fraud case

JB Financial Group posts 24.7 percent YOY growth in Q3 net profit

JB Financial Group headquarters in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province / Courtesy of JB Financial GroupBy Anna J. ParkJB Financial Group posted a quarterly net profit of 167 billion won ($116 million) during the third quarter of this year, up 24.7 percent compared to the same period last year.According to the financial group's official announcement on Monday, JB Financial's cumulative net profit during the first three quarters of this year stood at 487.1 billion won, which is an all-time-high for the first three quarters. It is also an 18.1 percent year-on-year growth. Specifically, the group's return on equity (ROE) reached 15.2 percent, while its return on assets (ROA) stood at 1.14 percent. Both figures indicated top-rated profitability in the industry. The group explains that its preventive risk management over growing uncertainties helped it maintain soundness in its financial statements. The financial group's various affiliates all contributed to the solid profits; Jeonbuk Bank posted a net quarterly profit of 159.5 billion won, an 18.1 percent year-on-year growth, while Kwangju Bank

Oct 24, 2022By Anna J. Park

Banking & Finance