Business - The Korea Times

Lime fiasco clouds Shinhan Investment's mega IB prospects

Shinhan Investment's headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunShinhan Investment's prospects of joining the five major brokerages in becoming a mega investment bank have been clouded by its involvement in a scandal involving Lime Asset Management.Shinhan's brokerage unit not only distributed Lime's trade finance fund, but was also involved in designing the investment vehicle with Lime. Investors have been unable to redeem their investments based on Lime's mismanagement of funds. Lime has been disbanded after its executives were found to have been involved in multiple irregularities. The executives are currently on trial.The Financial Supervisory Service alleged that Shinhan Investment drew investors for the fund despite being aware at the time of the possibility that investors may not be able to retrieve their investments.Prosecutors have sought an eight-year prison term for a manager at the brokerage who headed its prime brokerage service division.Shinhan Investment has denied the allegations raised against its prime brokerage division.“We cannot accept th

Aug 30, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

Lime fiasco clouds Shinhan Investment's mega IB prospects

Bank of Korea to pick consulting partner for CBDC drive

Getty Images BankBy Lee Min-hyungBank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeolThe Bank of Korea (BOK) is accelerating its drive for the timely establishment of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot system.Last month, the central bank finished its first-phase review before setting up the CBDC pilot system. It plans to unveil details for a consulting partnership with a local company on Aug. 31, as part of its second step toward the CBDC drive, the central bank said Sunday.Those interested in partnering up for the project can submit an application form to the BOK. The central bank did not share specifics over when it would make its selection.Under the second-phase project, a potential partner will help the BOK establish a CBDC system architecture based on the first-phase research results, the BOK said.Architecture refers to the overall CBDC system structure ― including details such as applications, data management and security. The BOK plans to speed up the establishment of the CBDC pilot system by using the architecture. The central bank is set to begin the pilot test of its own CBDC syste

Aug 30, 2020By Lee Min-hyung

Bank of Korea to pick consulting partner for CBDC drive

Will KDB chief succeed in eliciting Asiana M&A deal?

By Kim Bo-eunKorea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gullAll eyes are on whether Korea Development Bank (KDB) Chairman Lee Dong-gull will be able to prompt Hyundai Development Company (HDC) to push on with the deal to acquire Asiana Airlines.While the KDB, which leads Asiana's creditors, did not provide details of Lee's meeting with HDC Chairman Chung Mong-kyu, Wednesday, the state-run lender stated it "held discussions, keeping all possibilities regarding acquisition conditions open."It appears Lee has offered significant concessions in terms of reducing the cost burden for HDC to bring the company back to the table. The consortium led by HDC had agreed to sign a stock purchase agreement on the acquisition of Asiana from Kumho Industrial, the construction unit of Kumho Asiana Group, in December. But in June, HDC requested a review of the deal be conducted from scratch after the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected the airline industry.HDC has called for a 12-week due diligence of Asiana to look into its financial condition, as circumstances have worsened from eight months earlier. Ku

Aug 27, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

Will KDB chief succeed in eliciting Asiana M&A deal?

DGB CEO tapped to lead KB's Prudential Life Insurance

Prudential Life's CEO candidate, current DGB Life Insurance CEO Min Ki-sik / Courtesy of Prudential Life InsuranceBy Anna J. ParkAs KB Financial Group is slated to officially absorb its new insurance affiliate ― Prudential Life Insurance ― at the end of this month, KB has appointed current DGB Life Insurance CEO Min Ki-sik to lead the insurance arm. KB Financial Group acquired the Korean unit of Prudential Life Insurance earlier this year, and the acquisition will be officially complete with a full payment of 2.2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) by the end of August.The financial group's executive candidate recommendation committee said they appointed Min based on his long expertise in life insurance. A graduate of Yonsei University, Min has spent more than 30 years working at insurance companies; he previously served as chief strategy officer at Prudential Life Insurance. From marketing to strategic development, Min is estimated to be an all-round player in the insurance sector. His familiarity of having worked at the Korean unit of Prudential Life played a significant part in his appoin

Aug 27, 2020By Anna J. Park

DGB CEO tapped to lead KB's Prudential Life Insurance

Hyundai Card CEO loses to siblings in inheritance lawsuit

By Anna J. ParkHyundai Card Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Tae-young / Courtesy of Hyundai CardThe first round of a family feud involving Hyundai Card's Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Tae-young over his mother's will has ended with Chung losing the lawsuit, as the Seoul Central District Court ruled Wednesday in favor of the plaintiffs ― the two younger siblings of Chung.Chung and his two siblings have been mired in a family dispute over the validity of their mother's will, written three days before her death in March 2018 when she was hospitalized. The mother's will was handwritten, stating that her land and savings worth about 10 billion won ($8.5 million) would be inherited by her daughter and her second son. There was no mention of her firstborn son or her husband in the will. The will also had the date and her social security number written on it as well as her name stamped with her seal. After her death, Chung and his father challenged the will's validity, saying it didn't match her handwriting, and that it couldn't have been written by her when she was in a state of hampered cognitiv

Aug 27, 2020By Anna J. Park

Hyundai Card CEO loses to siblings in inheritance lawsuit

HSBC continues to downsize Korean operation

A pedestrian passes by an HSBC branch in London in this 2016 file photo. / EPA-YonhapBy Park Jae-hyukHSBC decided to drop its fund administration services provider, here, to restructure its operation in Korea amid its deteriorating global profits.According to the U.K. investment bank's local subsidiary, Wednesday, HSBC Asia Pacific Holdings, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, entered into an agreement to sell its 92.96 percent stake in HSBC Fund Services Korea to Koscom.“The transaction is expected to be completed within the next six months,” HSBC Korea said in a press release. “The securities services business at HSBC Korea, which provides custody services to institutional investors and trustee services to investment managers, is unaffected by this transaction.”HSBC, which had started to offer personal finance services here in 1998, has continued to downsize its Korean operation.In July 2013, the bank said it would stop providing retail banking services in the country. It dismissed more than 200 workers at that time. Since then, it has focu

Aug 26, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

HSBC continues to downsize Korean operation

Donations for social enterprises

KB Kookmin Card CEO Lee Dong-cheol, center, poses with Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency President Kim In-seon, right, and Kids & Future Foundation Executive Director Park Doo-joon, after donating 200 million won to the two organizations at the card firm's headquarters in central Seoul, Tuesday. KB Kookmin Card said the donation was provided to support social enterprises and the underprivileged amid the resurgence of COVID-19. / Courtesy of KB Kookmin Card

Aug 26, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

ABL Life Insurance launches new health insurance plans

Courtesy of ABL Life InsuranceABL Life Insurance has launched two new types of health insurance plans which have streamlined cumbersome subscription processes, increasing access to health insurance coverage for those in formerly neglected demographics, such as senior citizens and people with chronic illnesses.The new insurance products have relatively few requirements, allowing senior citizens and those with pre-existing or chronic health problems to easily subscribe to the plans.One of the two new insurance plans only requires that customers have not received a diagnosis, hospitalization or surgery related to cancer, liver cirrhosis, cerebrovascular disease or ischemic heart disease in the past five years. Another new insurance plan has some additional requirements, yet its monthly premiums are about 18 percent cheaper than the other insurance plan's. Anyone aged from 30 to 80 can subscribe to the plans, and can be covered until they're 100 years old. “Instead of differentiating insurance premiums, the firm has launched the two new plans so that anyone, including senior citize

Aug 25, 2020

ABL Life Insurance launches new health insurance plans

Hankook Capital, JB Financial Group compete to acquire JT Savings Bank

JT Savings Bank headquarters / Courtesy of JT Savings BankBy Anna J. ParkIn Korea's M&A scene, the question of who's going to acquire JT Savings Bank has been grabbing investors' attention lately. The savings bank is currently owned by Tokyo-headquartered J Trust Group, and has been labelled a cash cow due to its stable profit performance.According to industry sources, the sale price for JT Savings Bank is estimated at around 200 billion won ($168 million), which is about four times the 50 billion won the current owner paid when it purchased the savings bank in 2015. A preliminary bidding was held at the end of last month with various financial institutions ― from private equity firms (PEFs) to financial groups ― showing interest. With a final bidding expected to be held in early September, Hankook Capital and JB Financial Group are considered the two main contenders.Hankook Capital is a credit company whose largest shareholder is the Military Mutual Aid Association. The firm runs various types of installment credit financing, while raising necessary capital by issuing corporate

Aug 24, 2020By Anna J. Park

Hankook Capital, JB Financial Group compete to acquire JT Savings Bank

Yoo to lead Citibank Korea's operation as interim CEO

Yoo Myung-soon / Courtesy of Citibank KoreaBy Anna J. ParkAs Citibank Korea's long-time CEO Park Jin-hei decided earlier this week to step down from his position without seeking another term, the bank's Senior Executive Vice President Yoo Myung-soon was tapped to lead the global lender's Seoul operation as an interim CEO from September.The appointment of the interim CEO is drawing attention as if her position becomes permanent she will be the nation's second female CEO of a major bank. Previously, Kwon Sun-joo served as Korea's first female CEO of the banking industry, leading Industrial Bank of Korea for three years from 2014 to 2016.The bank explained that the board of directors voted Tuesday to appoint Yoo as interim CEO to lead the bank's operation from September, yet whether Yoo will become the official CEO has not yet been decided. According to the bank's official procedures, a new CEO will have to go through review by an appointment recommendation committee, shareholders and a board of directors, to be officially appointed. As Park's original term is set to be completed near t

Aug 20, 2020By Anna J. Park

Banking & Finance