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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.

Koscom tasked with battling AWS, MS amid 'Digital New Deal'

An ad for Koscom's financial cloud service / Courtesy of KoscomKoscom CEO Chung Jee-seokBy Park Jae-hyukKoscom's self-stated mission to outdo Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft in the financial data cloud services market has taken on more significance since President Moon Jae-in announced cloud computing as one of seven projects to be pursued under his “Digital New Deal” drive, industry officials said Tuesday.Amid concerns about foreign technology companies enjoying a “free ride” on government policies for the post-pandemic period, observers are divided over whether or not the local financial IT firm can accomplish this.Koscom, a subsidiary of the Korea Exchange which has a 76.6 percent stake, joined hands with Naver Business Platform in October last year and opened the nation's first financial cloud data center in Seoul to meet the soaring demand for cloud services in the financial sector. Since then, it has expanded its footing in domestic financial cloud computing services.Earlier this month, the company defeated NHN in a bid for a 3.3 billion won ($2.

Jul 21, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Koscom tasked with battling AWS, MS amid 'Digital New Deal'

Banks brace for 'next normal' amid pandemic

Financial firms embracing cloud computing, AI for digital workspaceBy Lee Min-hyungDigital transformation is no longer a cliched goal for small retail business operators or large companies in every corner of every industry. This has become a must for market players to embrace rapidly, as the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing new paradigms on working environments; and the shift can be seen in emerging realities such as “work-from-home” or “contactless transaction.”Most industries have considered digitization as something crucial but vague, so most of them continued delaying the process of converting information into a digital format.The financial industry has been particularly cited as one of the latecomers in terms of embracing the transformation due to the conservative nature of the regulation-ridden sector.But banks and other financial firms ― such as credit card companies, life and non-life insurers and fintech startups ― have now identified digitization as the most crucial task for their sustainable growth in the post-coronavirus world.One noteworthy change is

Jul 21, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Banks brace for 'next normal' amid pandemic

'Commercial banks willfully neglect consumers' right to cheaper financing'

A man walks past a sign that promotes Kakao Bank in Seoul. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Commercial banks faced criticism Monday for allegedly not actively informing customers when they can seek a borrowing rate cut, in what many borrowers consider an underhanded move seeking greater interest income.Borrowers are allowed to ask lenders for a reduced rate if their credit improves following an increase in income or asset value or a reduction in debt. Lenders must respond no later than 10 days after receiving a request with the specifics on why the request was granted or denied. The measure aimed at defending the best interests of consumers has been effective since June 2019.Those who took out credit-based loans from the country's top commercial banks ― KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana and Nonghyup ― do not receive any regular notification about changes in their credit status, a basis for seeking a lower borrowing rate.“We do not necessarily send texts or emails to customers that saw changes in credit,” an official from one commercial lender said. “We let them know

Jul 20, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
'Commercial banks willfully neglect consumers' right to cheaper financing'

KB, Carlyle keep close eye on local insurance sector

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, left, and Carlyle Asia Partners advisory team managing director John Kim / Korea Times filePartnership to help banking group improve Q3 earningsBy Park Jae-hyukThe newly formed alliance between KB Financial and Carlyle groups is drawing attention from market observers here, as their interest in the domestic insurance industry is expected to help improve KB's financial sheet this year, according to industry officials, Monday.KB, which announces its second-quarter results, Tuesday, is set to regain its status as leading bank from its chief local rival Shinhan Financial tainted by scandals involving the alleged mis-selling of private equity funds. FnGuide, an online financial data tracker, estimated KB will report an 882 billion won ($732 million) net profit for the three-month period ended June 30, while Shinhan's is estimated at 855 billion won. KB may widen the gap with Shinhan in terms of profits in the following quarter as the Financial Services Commission plans to grant approval for KB's suggested acquisition of Prudential Life Insurance

Jul 20, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
KB, Carlyle keep close eye on local insurance sector

INTERVIEW 'Agile innovation is key to success in financial markets in post COVID-19 era'

Hyun Jong-hoon, country manager at ING Bank in Korea and chairman of Foreign Bankers Group, poses for a photo at ING Bank Seoul Branch during an interview with The Korea Times on July 16. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukING chief stresses transparent yet flexible application of regulations to boost Seoul's attractiveness as global financial hubBy Anna J. Park It's been more than 30 years since Hyun Jong-hoon, Country Manager at ING Bank in Korea, began his career in the global financial industry. Following his time spent at Citibank, Chase Manhattan Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston, the soft-spoken 57-year-old joined ING Bank's Seoul branch in 2001, and has been stably leading the Amsterdam-based global bank's business here since 2012. Based on his decades of expertise in global banking, he was picked last year to serve as chairman of the Foreign Bankers Group (FBG) ― an association of 49 foreign banks from 20 countries with a business presence in Korea. During a recent interview with The Korea Times at his office in central Seoul, Hyun talked about his ideas on what the govern

Jul 19, 2020By Anna J. Park
[INTERVIEW] 'Agile innovation is key to success in financial markets in post COVID-19 era'

Bracing for post-pandemic period

Woori Bank CEO Kwon Kwang-seok delivers a speech at the bank's main branch in Seoul, Friday, during a teleconference with 250 employees to discuss business strategies for the latter half of 2020. He mentioned digital transformation, channel transformation, “new normal” management and risk management as the four key strategies for the post-COVID-19 era. / Courtesy of Woori Bank

Jul 19, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Bracing for post-pandemic period

Three-way rivalry heats up for internet-only bank leadership

Pictured is the headquarters of K bank in Seoul. The internet-only lender seeks a revival as BC Card is set to become a new major shareholder of the cash-strapped bank. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungA three-way rivalry is heating up in the competition to become Korea's leading internet-only bank, with two emerging players ― K bank and Toss ― set to take on market leader Kakao Bank in the latter half of this year.Kakao Bank has been dominating the internet-only bank market since its launch in 2017, increasing its user base to more than 12.54 million as of June this year. Another first-generation internet-only lender, K bank, which also started the same year, ended up trailing behind the Kakao subsidiary, suffering financial difficulties.K bank started its business amid hopes the internet-only lender, along with Kakao Bank, could bring about a paradigm shift in the conventional banking industry. But the lender faced funding problems as the Fair Trade Commission prevented its parent company, KT, from providing capital to K bank because of the telecom firm's violation of the nation's Fair Trade

Jul 17, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Three-way rivalry heats up for internet-only bank leadership

Banks all out to hire Samsung's data experts

From left are NongHyup Bank Chief Digital Officer Lee Sang-rae, KB Financial Group Chief Data Officer Yoon Jin-soo, Shinhan Bank digital R&D center head Jang Hyun-ki and Hana Institute of Technology Director Kim Jeong-han / Courtesy of each companyBy Park Jae-hyukShinhan, KB, Hana, Woori and NH financial groups are shifting their focus to outside their companies in hiring a larger number of data specialists amid the growing importance of the use of data in the financial industry and the government's move to boost the data economy.According to the nation's five-largest banking groups, the number of employees working in their big data businesses rose to 172 at the end of June, up 64 percent from 105 a year earlier, a result of their continuous digital transformation efforts.They have been especially aggressive in seeking leaders for their data businesses, including from among Samsung executives; the company having served as a fertile environment for the development of leaders in the data industry over the past few years.NongHyup Bank is the latest example of a commercial bank that

Jul 16, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Banks all out to hire Samsung's data experts

Supporting small business owners

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin, center, and Financial Supervisory Service Governor Yoon Suk-heun, third from right, pose with participants in the opening ceremony of the third KB SOHO Mentoring School at the KB SOHO Consulting Hub on Yeouido in Seoul, Thursday. The bank has run the mentoring program since 2016 to support the self-employed who seek to improve the competitiveness of their businesses. / Courtesy of KB Kookmin Bank

Jul 16, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Supporting small business owners

Reporter's Notebook New jeonse loan for expats at this moment?

A model promotes KB Kookmin Bank's new foreigner-only housing loan product for “jeonse payments.” / Courtesy of KB Kookmin BankBy Park Jae-hyukIt may have been expected that KB Kookmin Bank's recent announcement of its new foreigner-only housing loan product for “jeonse” payments would be good news for foreign residents in Korea.But the bank's recent decision, which was announced shortly after the government measures to tighten real estate regulations, also raised doubts about the lender's hidden intentions, considering Korean banks have long remained reluctant to provide loans to foreigners.According to the banking unit of KB Financial Group, non-Korean tenants will be able to borrow up to 200 million won ($167,000) at a minimum interest rate of 2.47 percent, starting this month. Applicants must have visas with three months validity and proof of income in Korea.This is the nation's second “foreigner-only” jeonse loan introduced by a major commercial bank, following that of Shinhan Bank in 2017.Jeonse, a massive cash deposit, is a real estate pract

Jul 16, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
[Reporter's Notebook] New jeonse loan for expats at this moment?
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