my timesThe Korea Times
Business

Banking & Finance

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
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.

IBK joins UN initiative on workplace gender equality

By Yi Whan-wooThe Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) has joined a U.N initiative on gender equality at the workplace, the bank announced Thursday.Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) Chairman and CEO Yoon Jong-won / Courtesy of IBKIt said its joining of the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) is in accordance with its Chairman and CEO Yoon Jong-won's commitment to increasing representation of women and promotion of gender equality as part of the bank's work culture.The bank also noted the joining of the WEPs is a part of its efforts to better observe environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles that have been embraced by the corporate and financial sectors worldwide.“Gender diversity in the workplace is a matter of fairness, not favoring a particular side,” Yoon said in a press release. “I hope the value of diversity drives momentum for sustainable growth that all of us can enjoy.”The WEPs was launched jointly by the U.N. Global Compact and U.N. Women in 2010.It has seven main principles: Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality

Mar 17, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
IBK joins UN initiative on workplace gender equality

Legal issues weigh on banking groups ahead of shareholders' meetings

The logo of Shinhan Financial Group, the country's second-biggest financial services provider, is seen at its headquarters in central Seoul, in this photo taken in 2018. Korea Times fileBy Yi Whan-wooThe legal issues associated with major banking groups are expected to be a key topic at their shareholders' meetings scheduled for next week.The defeat of Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo in an administrative suit over improper selling of high-risk derivative-linked funds (DLFs), Monday, surprised many as Woori Financial Group's Son Tae-seung won a similar DLF case back in August 2021.Hana Financial Group finds the ruling will hardly influence Ham, the sole candidate for the group's next chairman position, from being confirmed during the shareholders' meeting on March 25.Some analysts, however, say that concerns remain, noting that the group's two outside directors who sought to extend their term faced objections from 15 percent of the shareholders in their previous meeting in December. The two were involved in the DLF fiasco, as well.In case of Woori, the Financial Super

Mar 16, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Legal issues weigh on banking groups ahead of shareholders' meetings

Digitally-skilled workers preferred by banks when recruiting

gettyimagesbank By Lee Min-hyungBanks are conducting their recruitment for this year, giving more weight to those who have received a digital education or relevant certificates offered by third-party organizations. Banks have been desperate to hire digital professionals for the past few years due to the rise of digital banking after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.With more people preferring to make non-face-to-face transactions, demand for mobile banking platforms has been on a steep rise. Catching up with the new paradigm, banks have had to reduce recruitments of conventional bank clerks and hire more digitally-agile staff.However, they have had a tough time hiring tech savvy applicants, as most IT specialists do not favor jobs at banks or financial institutions. As a result, banks are now moving to shift their eyes onto hiring those who have taken digital education courses from recognized organizations, even if they do not have an academic

Mar 16, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Digitally-skilled workers preferred by banks when recruiting

Bank stocks regain appeal to investors due to rate hikes, loan resumption

Korean banks' automated teller machines are set up at a building in Seoul in this file photo. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungKorean bank stocks are regaining their luster due to mounting expectations over the incoming administration's easing of lending regulations, which are expected to generate synergies with imminent rate hikes to be implemented by the U.S. Fed.Shares of major financial holding firms closed higher on Tuesday, as expectations offset geopolitical uncertainties in Eastern Europe. Shares of KB Financial Group, the largest financial holding firm by market capitalization, increased 1.61 percent from the previous day.The so-called big four financial firms ― including KB ― also ended higher the same day, even if the benchmark KOSPI closed down almost 1 percent.The fresh upward momentum came about a month after most bank shares had nosedived from mid-February, as investors lost their confidence in the benchmark KOSPI due to multiple uncertainties represented by the war in Ukraine and the presidential election here. With both ruling and opposition candidates maintaining a neck-and-ne

Mar 16, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Bank stocks regain appeal to investors due to rate hikes, loan resumption

KB Securities joins UNGC to strengthen ESG leadership

KB Securities co-CEOs Kim Sung-hyun, left, and Park Jung-rim, center, pose for a photo with UNGC Network Korea Secretary General Kwon Choon-taek at the brokerage firm's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of KB SecuritiesBy Anna J. ParkKB Securities said it has joined the U.N. Global Compact (UNGC) earlier this month, in a move to strengthen its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG)-principled responsibilities. The brokerage firm's co-CEOs, Kim Sung-hyun and Park Jung-rim, added their signatures to join the global compact network backed by the U.N. in a ceremony held at the firm's Yeouido headquarters last Friday, which was also attended by UNGC Network Korea Secretary General Kwon Choon-taek. The UNGC is a voluntary international agreement that puts emphasis on corporate social responsibility, aiming to mobilize a global movement for the goal of achieving sustainable development. Currently, over 19,000 institutions around the world, including 165 countries and 15,478 companies and civic groups, have joined the initiative. As the core value of the U.N.-bac

Mar 15, 2022By Anna J. Park
KB Securities joins UNGC to strengthen ESG leadership

Hana lodges appeal over court's ruling on DLFs

Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo speaks with reporters in front of the Seoul Western District Court on Friday. NewsisBy Anna J. Park Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo decided to immediately appeal against the verdict from the first trial on Hana's mis-selling of high-risk derivative-linked products (DLFs). According to Hana Financial, Ham filed the appeal online on Monday night, later in the same day the Seoul Administrative Court ruled against him. In the appeal he asked for a cancellation of disciplinary censure measures imposed on him by the financial authorities over the mis-selling of the problematic products.In March 2020, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) issued a reprimand warning Ham of his responsibility for the mis-selling of the products, in addition to the 16.7 billion won ($13.5 million) penalty on Hana Bank. The vice chairman is slated to be officially appointed as the financial group's new chairman late this month, following the group's shareholders meeting and board meeting on March 25. Technically, there won't be a legal hurdle t

Mar 15, 2022By Anna J. Park
Hana lodges appeal over court's ruling on DLFs

Over 60% of big Korean companies negatively affected by Ukraine crisis: poll

A Ukrainian police officer stands guard next to a residential building hit by Russian artillery shelling, in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 14. EPA-Yonhap More than 6 in 10 large firms in Korea are feeling the pinch of the Russia-Ukraine war that has sent international material costs soaring, a poll revealed Tuesday.The survey of 153 of the country's top 1,000 companies by sales showed 60.8 percent of respondents saying they were being negatively affected by the Ukraine crisis.In particular, nearly 90 percent of businesses having trade and investment relations with Russia and Ukraine think the crisis is having a negative impact on their management.The Federation of Korean Industries, the lobby for Korea's family-controlled conglomerates, conducted the survey between March 2 and Friday.According to the findings, about 51 percent of those firms being negatively impacted by the conflict cited increased costs stemming from soaring oil and other major raw material prices as the ma

Mar 15, 2022
Over 60% of big Korean companies negatively affected by Ukraine crisis: poll
  • Korea to provide non-lethal military, medical supplies to Ukraine

What's behind plunge in Coupang's share price?

Some analysts remain optimistic citing solid sales growthBy Anna J. Park Korean e-commerce giant Coupang marks the first anniversary of its listing on the New York Stock Exchange this month, but the stock's recent performance has not given much reason for celebration.Not only has the stock been declining after peaking at $69 when it went public on March 11 last year, it has lost more than 37 percent of its value this month alone. And last Thursday, the share price dropped by 16.56 percent, followed by another fall of 8.03 percent on Friday.On top of other reasons such as the recent fall in IT shares and growing uncertainties, a key investor's block trade deal was attributed as the main cause of the stock's plunge last week. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SoftBank Group's Vision Fund sold over $1 billion worth of Coupang stocks ― 50 million shares ― at $20.87 a share to cause the plunge in the price late last week.After making a flamboyant debut on the New York Stock Exchange in March of 2021, the stock suffered from overhang risks and strong s

Mar 15, 2022By Anna J. Park
What's behind plunge in Coupang's share price?

Hana expresses regret over court's ruling on high-risk DLFs

Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo / Courtesy of Hana Financial Group By Yi Whan-wooHana Financial Group Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo lost an administrative suit, Monday, against the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) which had imposed a reprimand warning on him over the improper selling of high-risk derivative-linked funds (DLFs) by the group's flagship affiliate Hana Bank.The bank expressed regret over the ruling, saying, “We actively explained the excessive aspect of the FSS' measure on one hand, while fully accepting its compromise plan to compensate affected investors on the other hand.” “But all of these efforts unfortunately have not been accepted,” it added.The lender said it will announce further details on its stance regarding the ruling after analyzing the verdict.Ham and the financial group are widely expected to appeal the ruling, as the vice chairman awaits confirmation to become the group's next chairman during meetings of shareholders a

Mar 14, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Hana expresses regret over court's ruling on high-risk DLFs

DGB Financial chief's legal woes cast cloud over investor confidence in group

DGB Financial Group Chairman Kim Tae-oh attends a meeting of financial group chiefs and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) governor held in Seoul, Nov. 3, 2021. NewsisBy Anna J. ParkThe ongoing legal procedures surrounding DGB Financial Group Chairman Kim Tae-oh ― who is facing charges of bribery and embezzlement ― are overshadowing investors' confidence in the regional financial giant's future.At the first trial held late last week, Kim denied the allegation that he had paid a broker $3.5 million in 2020 as a bribe for Cambodian financial officials to obtain a commercial banking license for the financial group's banking subsidiary, Daegu Bank, in the Southeast Asian country.Prosecutors indicted Kim, along with three other key officials of the financial group, without detention last December on charges of bribery and corruption. The four defendants are alleged to have given the money to the Cambodian broker between April and October 2020, with plans to bribe Cambodian government officials in exchange for the bank's commercial license. The four defendants also face embezzlement c

Mar 14, 2022By Anna J. Park
DGB Financial chief's legal woes cast cloud over investor confidence in group
previous page
297298299300301
next page

Most Read in Business