Business - The Korea Times

Toss operator in hot seat for partnership with police

The Toss Siren service used to prevent online frauds / Courtesy of Viva RepublicaTheCheat cries foul over Viva Republica's decisionBy Park Jae-hyukViva Republica, the operator of mobile money transfer app Toss, has come under fire on social media for its latest partnership with the National Police Agency formed to prevent online fraud.Kim Hwa-rang, the CEO of TheCheat, an online platform created in 2006 to share information about online fraud, criticized the partnership on Facebook, late Wednesday, after the announcement by Viva Republica earlier that day.Even before the Toss operator joined hands with the police, TheCheat had been providing Viva Republica with the online fraud data it collected. In October, Viva Republica announced it had detected more than 100,000 suspicious transactions during a two-month test operation of its Siren service in collaboration with TheCheat.However, the company decided to use police data in addition to TheCheat data for its Siren service, despite its partner's complaints.“The National Police Agency Cyber Bureau had promised not to infringe on o

Dec 3, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

Toss operator in hot seat for partnership with police

Banks speeding up manpower reduction with voluntary retirement packages

A bank clerk works at a sales office of Hana Bank in Seoul on Nov. 30. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyungBanks are hastening their workforce cuts, offering early retirement packages to employees amid diminishing demand for traditional bank clerks.As the year-end reshuffle season approaches, commercial lenders are opening up early retirement programs to induce eligible staff to apply, in a move to cut fixed costs and boost their online transformation.Not all lenders have given official numbers of staff who have applied for the voluntary retirement programs, but it is expected that the number of workers who take it up this year will exceed last year's total.This is because banks do not want more employees handling conventional banking tasks amid the rise of digital banking and they are on track to slash the number of sales offices.NongHyup Bank said it stopped receiving voluntary resignations at the end of last month for those aged 56 and those over 40 who have worked for more t

Dec 2, 2020By Lee Min-hyung

Banks speeding up manpower reduction with voluntary retirement packages

Mirae Asset's overseas profits exceed W244 bil.

The headquarters of Mirae Asset in central Seoul / Courtesy of Mirae AssetBy Anna J. ParkDespite an unprecedented level of market uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mirae Asset's cumulative profits from 40 overseas branches in a dozen countries during the first three quarters of this year stood at 244.3 billion won ($222 million), exceeding the 238.3 billion won earned for all of 2019. The earnings represent 17 percent of the entire Mirae Asset Group's profits so far this year. The majority came from the financial group's brokerage arm Mirae Assest Daewoo that garnered 173.8 billion won in profits abroad. The all-time record high came from active investments in pre-IPOs in new growth industries, digital platforms and differentiated strategies for each region. The remaining 70.5 billion won came from Mirae Asset Global Investments, far exceeding its last year's total earnings of 67.4 billion won. The asset manager runs various ETFs, including Mirae Asset Global that was listed on the Hong Kong Exchange in 2006, the first among domestic asset management firms. The ETF contin

Dec 2, 2020By Anna J. Park

Mirae Asset's overseas profits exceed W244 bil.

Shinhan set to overhaul HR system into agile digital platform

The headquarters of Shinhan Bank in central Seoul / Courtesy of Shinhan BankBy Anna J. ParkFacing a fast-changing digitization period of the banking sector during a global pandemic, Shinhan Bank plans to overhaul its human resources system in accordance with its mid- to long-term strategies to strengthen its digital platforms.The bank has long utilized data-based analysis when it comes to HR matters to objectively determine the optimal allocation of workers. Now the major lender aims to improve the system even further by actively relying upon big data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. According to the bank's strategy, the digital improvement of the HR system will be made in a three-pronged approach: first, HR changes will be done through accurately recording its staff's workloads as well as performance assessments; second, the bank's compensation systems will be digitized; and lastly, various smart devices or media platforms will be used by employees for digital-based HR functions, which will allow an increased level of automation within the HR department. A bank

Nov 30, 2020By Anna J. Park

Shinhan set to overhaul HR system into agile digital platform

Banks to lower credit loan limits, raise interest rate

A loan sales office of Hana Bank in Seoul. Financial authorities plan to impose tougher loan regulations on Monday. / YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungAfter the country's financial regulators clarified plans to control surging household debts, Korea's commercial banks will lower their upper limits for non-collateral credit loans. Under the updated regulation organized and set by the Financial Services Commission (FSS), salaried workers or those equivalent whose annual salary tops 80 million won or about $72,400, before tax, will be blocked from receiving credit loans of more than 100 million won when buying houses in Seoul or Seoul metropolitan areas. The regulation will go into effect Nov. 30. The loans will be retrieved within two weeks if borrowers are found to have used the money for housing investment less than a year after receiving the loans.Credit or loan limit refers to the maximum amount of credit a financial institution can extend to a client. But this time, banks' moves are in sync with the government's plans to stop more people from jumping on what it considers real estate speculat

Nov 29, 2020By Lee Min-hyung

Banks to lower credit loan limits, raise interest rate

Homeowners furious over tax spike

Clear ownership to bolster Kakao Bank IPO

A smartphone user views Kakao Bank's mobile banking app. Korea Times fileBy Kim Yoo-chul, Anna J. ParkKakao Bank, one among a small number of digital banks in Korea, became a profitable enterprise in 2019 after just 18 months of operation. The bank plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in 2021. The process of selecting underwriters is underway.The key questions for investors and market watchers now are whether or not Kakao Bank's business model is sustainable and where else similar success stories in Asia can be found.When considering the following five key requirements ― distinctiveness in lending and deposit franchises, large unserved customer pools, unprepared competitors, large synergistic backers and regulatory support ― Kakao Bank is ideally positioned to pursue its IPO as planned and scheduled, senior fund managers and investment banks said, Sunday.The single requirement of building of a large customer base is often difficult for digital banks as many players in the payment services sector are able to demonstrate such ability. However, not many have been able to mai

Nov 29, 2020By Kim Yoo-chul

Clear ownership to bolster Kakao Bank IPO

NH Financial Chairman Kim Kwang-soo to lead Korea Federation of Banks from next month

Kim Kwang-soo / Korea Times fileBy Anna J. ParkNH Financial Group Chairman Kim Kwang-soo, 63, has been elected the next head of the Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) for a three-year term starting Dec. 1.The KFB said its member banks unanimously approved Kim's appointment at the federation's general assembly, Friday. He was the only candidate.“Based on his long-time expertise and excellent insight into the banking industry, Chairman Kim is expected to greatly contribute to the development of the banking sector, which is now facing both internal and external uncertainties from the prolonged global pandemic, as well as digital transformation,” the KFB said. NH Financial Group said it started a recruitment process Friday to appoint a new chairman after Kim tendered his resignation to the financial firm's board of directors earlier in the day.According to board regulations, NH Financial needs to complete recommending final candidates for the chairman post in the next 40 days for consideration at the group's shareholders' meeting. In the meantime, NH group's Chief Strategy Offic

Nov 27, 2020By Anna J. Park

NH Financial Chairman Kim Kwang-soo to lead Korea Federation of Banks from next month

KDB goes all out to calm angry Asiana union

Unionists from Korean Air and Asiana Airlines hold a rally in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. / YonhapChairman Lee's inconsistency considered favorable to HDCBy Park Jae-hyukThe Korea Development Bank (KDB) has apparently been making moves to sooth a union at Asiana Airlines after the latter began legal action against KDB Chairman Lee Dong-gull over his recent comments on the carrier's possible bankruptcy.The state-run lender said Friday it had proposed talks with the union and two different Asiana pilot unions to fulfill its responsibilities in the ongoing aviation industry reform, including the Korean Air takeover of its rival full service carrier.“Our proposal is intended to take into account the union's opinions about job stability, when we make an investment and carry out post-merger integration procedures,” the KDB said in a press release.The release came a couple of days after the union strongly protest the KDB chairman for flip-flopping on his stance on the airline's financial soundness.The chairman guaranteed Asiana's normalization in Septembe

Nov 27, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

KDB goes all out to calm angry Asiana union

Woori Financial considers acquiring venture capital

By Anna J. ParkWoori Financial Group headquarters in central Seoul / Courtesy of Woori Financial Group /As Woori Financial Group is the only financial group out of the country's top five ― alongside Shinhan, Hana, KB and NongHyup ― without its own brokerage unit, the group has been aiming to acquire a securities firm to maximize its profit structure.However, as the brokerage sector is enjoying an unprecedented boom amid excessive liquidity and investors' aggressive entry into the stock market, Woori's plan to purchase a brokerage company has become less likely to be realized due to a lack of brokerage firms up for sale. It also doesn't appear that any securities firms would be in the market for an M&A in the near future. From that standpoint, market insiders of the financial industry have been estimating Woori has shifted its strategy to acquire venture capital firms as a more feasible and realistic “Plan B” option to diversify its business platforms. Not only is Woori the only major financial giant without a brokerage unit, but it also is the only major financial gro

Nov 26, 2020By Anna J. Park

Woori Financial considers acquiring venture capital

Merrill Lynch Seoul's hefty dividend payment raising stir

A woman walks past Merrill Lynch headquarters in New York in this 2009 file photo. / YonhapFinancial watchdog stays mum on massive outflow of cashMerrill Lynch International Seoul Branch head Park Seung-gu, left, and Financial Supervisory Service Governor Yoon Suk-heun / Korea Times fileBy Park Jae-hyukMerrill Lynch International's Seoul branch sent a large sum of money to its United States headquarters again this year, despite continuous backlash against the annual practice of foreign brokerages that transfer the national wealth back to their own countries.Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Yoon Suk-heun previously emphasized the necessity of thoroughly investigating foreign financial companies in Korea to find out whether or not their hefty dividends were intended to avoid taxes. But the financial watchdog is still assuming a passive attitude toward them to avoid possible negative impact on the nation's lofty vision of becoming a financial hub.According to a regulatory filing by Merrill Lynch, Wednesday, its Seoul branch decided last week to send 83.4 billion won ($75 mil

Nov 25, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

Banking & Finance