Business - The Korea Times

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

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

KB Financial introduces ethical criteria on AI-based banking

University professors and KB Financial Group executives are joined by the banking group's tech staff during a ceremony to mark the introduction of ethical criteria concerning artificial intelligence (AI) at the group's data center in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of KB Financial GroupBy Yi Whan-wooKB Financial Group has introduced a set of criteria to ensure ethical rules are observed when developing and using artificial intelligence (AI), the company announced on Monday.KB Financial Group will be Korea's first financial services firm to address ethical guidelines on AI, as the banking sector's reliance increases on cutting-edge technologies.The criteria deal with values that should be taken into account in the development, operation and maintenance of AI. Among the values are fairness, tolerance, cooperation, transparency and a safety-first mindset.“The banking sector deals with vast amounts of data and capitalizing on AI is increasingly needed,” the company said. “But using AI requires heavy responsibilities, because it can lead to serious consequences if AI is

Oct 24, 2022By Yi Whan-woo

KB Financial introduces ethical criteria on AI-based banking

Eximbank holds OECD Environmental and Social Practitioners' Meeting

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) building in Yeouido, Seoul / Courtesy of Eximbank By Yoon Ja-youngThe Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank)?is holding a meeting of environmental and social practitioners, this week, to help address environmental and social issues when providing officially supported export credits.?According to the Eximbank, it is co-hosting the 46th Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Environmental and Social Practitioners' Meeting in Seoul from Oct. 24 to 25 jointly with the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation. The meeting comprises experts who establish and revise common approaches applied to export credit agencies of each country in addressing the potential environmental and social impact of projects for which official export credit support is requested. They also aim to share policies and practices related to environmental and social due diligence.The meetings have been held at the OECD headquarters in Paris in

Oct 24, 2022

Eximbank holds OECD Environmental and Social Practitioners' Meeting

KakaoBank faces uphill battle after service disruption

The Kakao's Pangyo office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 17 YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooKakaoBank faces a bumpy road ahead in the banking business over the recent service outage of its parent company, Kakao, which revealed a serious shortfall in tech expertise and crisis management abilities. This shortfall comes after Kakao, one of the country's tech giants, capitalized on its prowess as a platform operator and relentlessly advanced into industries earmarked for smaller firms.Under these circumstances, whether KakaoBank, an internet-only lender, can continue to appeal to investors amid the shift to digital banking remains in question, according to analysts, Sunday.“KakaoBank is certainly one of the most competitive mobile lenders, but it is expected to make less-than-expected profits for the time being,” said Kiwoom Securities analyst Seo Young-soo.Seo noted that KakbaoBank closed at 16,750 won per share on the benchmark KOPSI, Friday, down 0.59 percent from the previous day's close, in the wake of the major fire that erupted on Oct. 15 at a data center, knocking out Kakao

Oct 23, 2022By Yi Whan-woo

KakaoBank faces uphill battle after service disruption

Kakao Pay unlikely to join MSCI due to falling stock price

Kakao Pay's office is seen in this file photo taken at its headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungKakao Pay is unlikely to join the MSCI index in November due to the firm's rapidly-falling market capitalization, market analysts said Friday.The mobile payment and digital wallet affiliate of tech giant Kakao had been widely anticipated to be included in the index after it went public on the benchmark KOSPI last year. But given the increasing market volatility here, the firm's possible inclusion in the index appears unlikely for the time being, according to experts.“The inclusion or exclusion in the index in November will be determined by the market capitalization of companies at a randomly-picked date between Oct. 18 and 31,” Yuanta Securities analyst Ko Gyeong-beom said. “But uncertainties have escalated over the market cap of listed firms here due to the volatile market conditions. Kakao Pay will not be included in the index.”The financial

Oct 21, 2022By Lee Min-hyung

Kakao Pay unlikely to join MSCI due to falling stock price

Shinhan set to regain title as Korea's leading financial group

The headquarters of Shinhan Financial Group and KB Financial Group in Seoul / Courtesy of each firmBy Lee Min-hyungShinhan Financial Group is forecast to regain its title as Korea's leading banking group in 2022 after ceding the position to archrival KB Financial Group for the past two years.According to data from market tracker FnGuide, Shinhan is estimated to have chalked up a net profit of 1.5 trillion won ($1.04 billion) in the third quarter, the largest among local financial firms. KB came in second with 1.26 trillion won.Shinhan's rally was driven by a one-off profit from the sale of the headquarters of Shinhan Securities. Shinhan sold the office building to IGIS Asset Management for 640 billion won in July. The financial holding firm is estimated to have generated a profit of 320 billion won through the deal.KB Financial Group maintained its leading position until the first half of this year when its net profit reached 2.75 trillion won. Shinhan's earnings fell slightly behind at 2.72 trillion won during the same period.But Shinhan is expected to get ahead of KB in terms of an

Oct 21, 2022By Lee Min-hyung

Shinhan set to regain title as Korea's leading financial group

KRX, Naver join hands to invigorate listed firms' English disclosure

Lim Jae-joon, left, director of KOSPI market committee at the Korea Exchange (KRX), and Shin Jung-hwi, Papago leader of Naver, pose for a photo after signing a memorandum of understanding to jointly invigorate the English public disclosures by listed firms here, Oct. 20. YonhapKorea's bourse operator said Thursday it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with internet portal giant Naver to invigorate the English public disclosures by listed firms here.The Korea Exchange (KRX) said artificial intelligence technology and Naver's translation service "Papago," will be utilized in providing English disclosure by listed firms.The KRX said the listed firms have had difficulties in filing English public disclosures with speed and accuracy despite the high portion of foreign ownership of local stocks.Under the MOU, the bourse operator also plans to provide Naver with the listed firms' public disclosure data from the past. (Yonhap)

Oct 20, 2022

KRX, Naver join hands to invigorate listed firms' English disclosure

Local financial firms' overseas assets quadrupled over last 10 years

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. ParkLocal financial companies' overseas assets have more than quadrupled over the past decade, as the expansion of local firms into foreign markets increased, mostly in the U.S. and Southeast Asia.This is according to the latest research conducted by CEOSCORE, a local corporate data research firm, on 39 local financial companies that published their half-year financial reports for this year on their affiliated businesses overseas. The aggregate number of overseas subsidiaries owned by the 39 local financial firms stood at 268, with their entire asset size reaching 159.3 trillion won ($112 billion). The total size of overseas assets held by local financial firms surged 4.6 times compared to the first half of 2012. Over the past decade, the entire asset size of the 39 financial companies, combining both overseas and local ones, doubled from 1,910 trillion won in the first half of 2012 to 4,060 trillion won in the first half of 2022. The numbers show that the aggregate overseas assets of the firms displayed a much faster rate of increase compared to their local

Oct 19, 2022By Anna J. Park

Local financial firms' overseas assets quadrupled over last 10 years

POSCO Holdings Q3 operating profit down 71% to $632.6 million

POSCO Group CEO Choi Jeong-woo waves POSCO holding's flag. YonhapPOSCO Holdings on Wednesday estimated its third-quarter operating profit at 900 billion won ($632.6 million), down 71 percent from a year earlier.Revenue increased 2.9 percent to 21.2 trillion won. The data for net earnings was not available.The operating profit was 17.8 percent lower than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.The company will release its final earnings report later. (Yonhap)

Oct 19, 2022

Banking & Finance