Business - The Korea Times

BC Card decides to sell entire stake in MasterCard

A man points to the sky in front of BC Card headquarters in Seocho District, southern Seoul, in this file photo. YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulBC Card has decided to sell its entire stake in MasterCard in what is believed to be a move to participate in a capital increase by K bank. Currently, the card firm is the largest shareholder of the internet-only bank with a 34 percent stake.On Friday, BC Card said its board had approved a plan to sell its entire holdings in MasterCard Incorporated (MasterCard) within this year. BC Card holds 504,000 ordinary shares in MasterCard. The estimated amount of cash it could earn from the sale would be about 210 billion won, or some $188 million, based on the U.S. firm's May 21 closing price.When questioned about the primary reason for unloading the shares, BC Card said the decision was aimed at profit taking. But local banking industry officials said the card issuer's decision was intended to allow it to participate in a rights offering being pursued by K bank, a local internet-only bank affiliated with KT.“On the same day that BC Card's board met, it

Jun 4, 2021By Kim Yoo-chul

BC Card decides to sell entire stake in MasterCard

Banks to continue slashing workforce in 2022

Seen above is KB Kookmin Bank's automated teller machines set up at the lender's sales office in Seoul. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungKorean banks will continue to slash their workforce in 2022 by encouraging more of them to opt for voluntary retirement and hiring fewer workers, as a growing number of their customers predominantly use online banking platforms..Industry officials argue that the trend is unavoidable amid the rapid rise of digital banking. As banks' digital platforms grow increasingly sophisticated, demand for new employees will continue to decline over the next few years, according to industry insiders.Data also showed that the size of the workforce at major lenders is on a gradual decline.According to the Korea Federation of Banks, the number of employees at the country's six commercial lenders ― KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, Standard Chartered Bank Korea and Citibank Korea ― dropped during the past year. As of the end of March 2020, the number reached 66,317, down by 1,244 from the previous year, according to data from the federation.Of particular note is the pace of the decline

Jun 4, 2021By Lee Min-hyung

Banks to continue slashing workforce in 2022

Citibank Korea may pursue divisional sales

Citibank's logo is displayed at the headquarters of Citibank Korea in Seoul in this file photo. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungCitibank Korea CEO Yoo Myung-soonAs chances are low for Citibank Korea to find an optimal sole investor to acquire its retail banking business, which is now up for sale at a relatively high sale price, the lender may pursue divisional sales of its retail banking unit, industry sources said, Thursday.Citibank Korea held a second board meeting Thursday to discuss its renewed exit strategy by scrapping its earlier plan to sell its retail banking business as a whole and find separate buyers for individual units.The lender is known to have discussed this plan B during the hours-long meeting. The firm's estimated sales price is around 2 trillion won ($1.79 billion), which is widely seen as “quite high” according to industry officials. The most probable scenario is for the lender to push for divisional sales of its retail businesses ― such as its wealth management unit or credit card business, they said. “Citibank Korea is widely expected to change its exit

Jun 3, 2021By Lee Min-hyung

Citibank Korea may pursue divisional sales

Hana Financial sets up foundation for at-risk children

Hana Financial Group Chairman and Stump Foundation for Youth Chairman Kim Jung-tai, third from left, waters a plant with foundation officials at an event organized to celebrate the launch of the foundation, Thursday. Courtesy of Hana Financial GroupBy Lee Kyung-min Hana Financial Group said Thursday that it has established the Stump Foundation for Youth to help and protect underprivileged children vulnerable to a range of social problems including neglect, suicide and addiction. The foundation is part of the banking group's mid- to long-term vision called, “Big Step for Tomorrow,” under its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) initiative.“We will continue to make various efforts to solve social problems and support the healthy growth of children, thereby promoting sincere change for future generations through the foundation. The group's practice of ESG management will be enhanced in the process,” Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai said at the event.The group plans to run a variety of support programs for teenagers who have fallen

Jun 3, 2021By Lee Kyung-min

Hana Financial sets up foundation for at-risk children

Samjong KPMG urges businesses to align portfolios with ESG

Samjong KPMG partner Lee Dong-seokBy Park Jae-hyukSamjong KPMG called on Korean companies to carry out drastic business portfolio restructuring by taking into account opportunities and risks from environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors, instead of considering their portfolios as separate from ESG management.“Business portfolios and ESG management systems should be aligned because the new ESG trend has had a significant impact on the attractiveness and valuation of businesses in which companies engage,” said Samjong KPMG partner Lee Dong-seok, who leads the accounting firm's ESG team.Lee emphasized the necessity of reviewing details on the attractiveness and valuation of businesses, as ESG has caused significant changes in the business environment. He mentioned the U.S. government's reinforced ESG-related policies to cope with climate change, the European Union's introduction of a carbon border adjustment mechanism and global credit ratings agencies' ESG assessments affecting credit ratings of companies.“Investors started halting their investment

Jun 2, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk

Samjong KPMG urges businesses to align portfolios with ESG

Leadership vacuum looms at Naver Financial following suicide scandal

Naver Financial CEO Choi In-hyuk / Courtesy of NaverBy Park Jae-hyukNaver Financial appears to be facing a leadership vacuum after Naver CEO Han Seong-sook accepted a recommendation by the online search portal's risk management committee that Choi In-hyuk, the head of the fintech arm, be suspended.“It is true that the risk management committee recommended the suspension of several former and incumbent team leaders, who were subject to an internal investigation,” a Naver spokesman said. “We cannot verify other details, because the committee's independent investigation is underway.”It is yet to be ascertained whether Choi has been suspended from all his duties ― Naver chief operating officer (COO), Naver Financial CEO and Happybean Foundation CEO.His suspension comes on the heels of the death of a Naver programmer, which is being investigated by Bundang Police Station.The programmer in his 40s was found dead near his apartment located close to the company's headquarters in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, May 25, with a note presumed to have been written by him. The

Jun 2, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk

Leadership vacuum looms at Naver Financial following suicide scandal

Employee's death to affect Naver's ESG evaluation

Gates Korea labor dispute to hurt Blackstone's Seoul office reopening

Laid off Gates Korea workers hold a rally in front of the Daegu City Hall, May 13, to protest the management's shutdown of its factory in the city last year. Courtesy of the Korean Metal Workers' UnionBy Park Jae-hyukThe former workers of Gates Korea, who lost their jobs a year ago following the decision by Gates Global ― owned by the Blackstone Group ― to close its automotive mechanical rubber plant in Daegu, are planning to hold a sit-in near the U.S. private equity firm's (PEF) Seoul office. The Blackstone Group's Seoul office is set to reopen seven years after its closure in 2014. Their probable protest in Seoul is emerging as a potential threat to Blackstone, which is seeking to expand its presence in the Korean market lately.Earlier this year, private equity industry insiders said that Blackstone was trying to reopen its Seoul office by the end of this year in collaboration with a law firm, as it is enticed by opportunities in Korea's competitive alternative investment markets. Although the foreign firm has yet to make any official announcement about the reopening of its Seoul

Jun 1, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk

Gates Korea labor dispute to hurt Blackstone's Seoul office reopening

Reporter's Notebook Macquarie can learn lessons from Mirae Asset, Hahn & Co.

Macquarie Group headquarters in Sydney / Yonhap By Park Jae-hyukMacquarie has a chance to learn lessons from Mirae Asset and Hahn & Company in terms of managing disputes with civic groups in the regions where they made investments.The Australian asset manager is facing severe backlash at this moment from civic groups in Gwangju for its recent attempt to acquire the city's gas supplier Haeyang Energy from Glenwood Private Equity.Nine groups in the region, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice and the Justice Party, joined hands with an intention to prevent a price hike for consumers after Macquarie's takeover.“If Macquarie acquires Haeyang Energy, it is highly probable that it will repeat what it has done when managing the Gwangju Second Beltway,” the groups said in a statement. “Citing the large-scale investment, it will borrow money at a high interest rate and will justify a rate hike.”A spokeswoman

May 31, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk

[Reporter's Notebook] Macquarie can learn lessons from Mirae Asset, Hahn & Co.

Eximbank signs $50 mil. credit agreement with CABEI

Eximbank CEO Bang Moon-kyu, left, poses after signing a credit agreement with CABEI Executive President Dante Mossi, at the former's headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of EximbankBy Lee Min-hyungThe Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) signed a credit agreement worth $50 million (55.75 billion won) with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), in a move to support anti-COVID-19 measures for five countries in the region, the Korean lender said Sunday.Under the agreement, CABEI will finance public sector purchases of medical devices and anti-coronavirus equipment for the countries: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.“This is the first time that Eximbank has provided the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) for an international finance development organization,” Eximbank CEO Bang Moon-kyu said. “We expect the five countries there to take proactive steps against the coronavirus, and the credit support will also contribute to mitigating the spread of the virus in the region.”The Korean governm

May 30, 2021

Eximbank signs $50 mil. credit agreement with CABEI

Korea Investment & Securities to issue foreign currency bond for first time

Korea Investment & Securities headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul / Courtesy of Korea Investment & SecuritiesBy Anna J. ParkKorea Investment & Securities is set to issue around $600 million worth of foreign currency bonds around July this year. It will be the first time that the brokerage is issuing dollar-denominated debt since it opened in 1974.According to investment banking industry sources, Friday, Korea Investment is currently in talks with Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse and HSBC, which have been chosen as underwriters for the bond issuance.The bonds being issued will mature in three to five years. Targeting institutional investors from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, the firm is said to be considering the issuance of bonds themed on environmental, corporate and social governance (ESG) principles.The brokerage has long maintained a leading position in the industry in terms of profits and performance. In particular, it took the top position during the first quarter of this year in terms of quarterly net profit among local brokerages, earning more than 350.6 bil

May 28, 2021By Anna J. Park

Banking & Finance