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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.

Financial stocks to bounce back on KakaoBank's inclusion in bank index

KakaoBank's head office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of KakaoBankBy Lee Min-hyungBank stocks will regain momentum for an additional rally by the end of 2021 after KakaoBank's inclusion in the KOSPI 200 Financials Index, Friday, according to industry watchers.The much-hyped listing of the internet-only lender grabbed the attention of investors last month. Up until now, they have paid less attention to conventional bank stocks despite their optimistic growth outlooks amid signs of a benchmark rate hike.But KakaoBank's inclusion in a series of KOSPI indices ― such as the KOSPI 200, KOSPI 200 Financials and the KRX Bank Index ― as of Friday, is expected to add momentum to reduce KakaoBank's post-initial public offering effect and help traditional banks recapture the attention of investors, according to market analysts.“Conventional bank stocks remained weak in July and August due to the supply-demand imbalance between shares of KakaoBank and other banks,” Daishin Securities economist Park Hye-jin said.But the trend is showing signs of abating and investors are advi

Sep 10, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Financial stocks to bounce back on KakaoBank's inclusion in bank index

Woori Financial's privatization feasible by end of 2021

Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung speaks during the firm's management strategy meeting at its headquarters in Seoul, Jan. 15. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungWoori Financial Group is expected to be fully privatized no later than the end of 2021, after two decades of “public ownership,” if the government acquires a buyer for its remaining 10-percent stake in the bank holding company.The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said Thursday it would finish receiving letters of intent to purchase the shares, Oct. 8, hoping to close a deal as early as the end of November after finding a successful bidder.As of Sept. 9, Woori Financial's largest shareholder is the state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) which holds a 15.25 percent stake in the financial holding firm. The National Pension Service (NPS), which owns 9.8 percent, is the second-largest shareholder.Any investor which purchases at least a 1 percent stake from the KDIC is able to join the competitive bidding. The FSC plans to offer an incentive to an investor that buys more than a 4 percent stake from the or

Sep 10, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Woori Financial's privatization feasible by end of 2021

Shinhan, NH extend contracts with crypto exchanges

Prices of cryptocurrencies traded at Coinone are shown on an electronic board at its customer center in Seoul, on Aug. 25. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungShinhan Bank and NongHyup Bank decided Wednesday to extend their contracts with local cryptocurrency exchanges, after verifying the exchanges' bolstered efforts to maintain anti-money laundering protocols.Upbit, the nation's largest crypto exchange, had so far been the only company which reported its business to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) after renewing its contract recently with K bank.The financial transaction act here stipulates that any exchange must report its business activities to the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, a sub-organization under the FSC, by Sept. 24 after signing or extending a partnership with a local commercial bank on their issuance of real-name bank accounts for their exchange customers.Three other major exchanges ― Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit ― were also expected to follow in the foo

Sep 8, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Shinhan, NH extend contracts with crypto exchanges

Helping venture capital firms digitize back offices

NongHyup Bank CEO Kwon Jun-hak, right, and Korea Securities Depository Rhee Myong-ho pose at the bank's main branch in Seoul, Monday, after signing a memorandum of understanding to help venture capital firms digitize their back offices. They agreed to open their digital platforms for this goal in October. Courtesy of NongHyup Bank

Sep 7, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Helping venture capital firms digitize back offices

Chung Tae-young steps down from Hyundai Capital

Hyundai Card and Capital CEO Chung Tae-young / Courtesy of Hyundai Card-Hyundai CapitalBy Anna J. ParkChung Tae-young, vice chairman and CEO of Hyundai Card, Hyundai Commercial and Hyundai Capital ― also known as “Ted Chung” abroad ― will be stepping down from his post at Hyundai Capital, following 18 years at the helm of the company.According to the financial industry, Tuesday, Chung's resignation will be made official at a board meeting of Hyundai Capital, slated for the end of the month. After his resignation, Mok Jin-won, who has been leading Hyundai Capital along with Chung, in the company's dual-CEO structure since April, will take sole charge. Chung's resignation from the auto finance company is viewed as an apparent attempt to bring more focus on Hyundai Card as well as Hyundai Commercial, in order to produce more innovation amid the rapidly changing payment business environment. The company's introduction of the dual-CEO structure in April was also interpreted as Chung's planned move to tender his resignation in the near future. Following his resignation, Chung i

Sep 7, 2021By Anna J. Park
Chung Tae-young steps down from Hyundai Capital

Banks come under fire for 'greedy' loan rate hike

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Min-hyungCommercial banks are being criticized for rushing to raise loan interest rates following the Bank of Korea's (BOK) base rate hike last month, while dragging their heels when it comes to increasing interest rates on deposits.With the central bank sending repeated signals of putting a gradual end to super-low interest rates, customers are expected to pay more interest on their loans. As a result, commercial banks are being called downright greedy by some.As of the end of July, Korean banks' deposit rates still remained below 1 percent. Their average deposit interest rate came in at 0.97 percent, up 0.03 percentage points from a month ago. In contrast, interest on household loans increased by 0.07 percentage points to 2.99 percent during the same period, according to data from the BOK.Data also showed that the deposit interest rate edged up only 0.07 percentage points at the end of July compared to the end of 2020. But the household loan rate jumped by 0.2 percentage points during the same period.Households are expected to be exposed to more interest-relat

Sep 5, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Banks come under fire for 'greedy' loan rate hike

State firms criticized for maintaining low-interest loans for employees

gettyimagesbank By Anna J. ParkAmid the government's efforts to raise loan interest rates to curb soaring asset prices, some state-run companies have ignored the government's call to impose higher interest rates when it comes to providing their own housing loan plans to employees. The finance ministry sent guidelines to state and public institutions early last month, urging them to impose higher loan interest rates than the bank household loan rate announced by Bank of Korea (BOK) when the institutions provide special housing loans for their employees. The finance ministry also asked the state-run institutions to apply a certain loan-to-value ratio (LTV) ― limiting the loan amount according to a lender-assessed value of their property ― as well as a loan cap of 70 million won ($60,500). The guidelines are supposed to be implemented starting later this week, and it is the finance ministry's plan to impose penalties in the firms' management assessment.However, it doe

Sep 3, 2021By Anna J. Park
State firms criticized for maintaining low-interest loans for employees

Bank workers to strike in protest of branch shutdowns

The Korean Financial Industry Union (KFIU) members chant during a press conference at the organization's headquarters in Seoul, Friday. / Screen capture from YouTubeBy Park Jae-hyukUnionized workers of commercial and state-run banks nationwide plan to go on strike later this month to protest the management's unilateral decision to close branches and to increase wages at a lower-than-expected rate, the Korean Financial Industry Union (KFIU) said, last week.They will first stage a slowdown on Sept. 24 to urge management to allow bank workers to have a one-hour lunch break simultaneously, instead of staggered meal breaks.The announcement came a day after 92.47 percent of its members supported a strike in Thursday's (Sept. 2) vote, which had a 73 percent voter turnout. The KFIU plans to hold a rally on Sept. 10 to declare a general strike.The union has demanded negotiations with the management before branch shutdowns, saying the closure of branches and workforce reductions have intensified pressure on workers and exacerbated job security. According to the KFIU, the number of bank branche

Sep 3, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Bank workers to strike in protest of branch shutdowns

Naver Financial seen as beneficiary of 'anti-Google law'

An illustration depicting the methods of payment for in-app purchase on Google Play / Courtesy of Google PlayKakao Pay silent about regulation on in-app billing systemBy Park Jae-hyukNaver Financial, which operates the internet portal's Naver Pay mobile payment service, has been viewed as one of beneficiaries of the National Assembly's passage of the world's first law aiming to ban Google and Apple from forcing consumers to use their own in-app billing systems when downloading apps and contents.In contrast to rival Kakao Pay, which can be used for in-app purchases on Google Play, Naver Pay has not been among the methods of payment for in-app purchases on the U.S. tech giant's app store, although Naver is said to have once talked with Google regarding their partnership.This has been attributed to the rivalry between Naver and Google in the search engine and other markets. Moreover, the former could have been forced to share part of its profits from Naver Webtoon and VIBE music service with the latter, unless lawmakers pass the regulation on the global app store operators.Under these c

Sep 3, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Naver Financial seen as beneficiary of 'anti-Google law'

Block deal leads KakaoBank's stock price to drop

An employee walks into the headquarters of KakaoBank in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province on August 5. YonhapBy Anna J. ParkKakaoBank's stock price tumbled almost eight percent on Thursday, finishing at 81,900 won ($70.53), due to a massive block deal ― or the sale of a large number of securities ― worth over one trillion won.Korea Post, which previously owned a 3.2-percent stake, or 15.2 million shares, in the internet-only bank, sold 2.9 percent of its shares, or 13.6 million shares, on Wednesday afternoon after the market closed, to lessen the impact on the stock price. Still, the block deal news caused the stock price to take a nosedive on Thursday. KakaoBank started trading at 81,000 won, down 8.7 percent, on Thursday, but rose to 83,300 around 11 a.m., only to close at 81,900 won. Korea Post's 2.9-percent stake ― or 13.6 million shares ― in KakaoBank was sold at around 80,000 won per stock, discounted by around 9 percent from the market price through the block deal, garnering 1.09 trillion won in cash. With the block sale, Korea Post now owns 1.55 million shares in the bank. Citigroup

Sep 2, 2021By Anna J. Park
Block deal leads KakaoBank's stock price to drop
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