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E-workshop for latter half

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, head of the table, presides over a meeting attended by over 200 key group officials to discuss business strategies for the latter half of 2020 at the head office of KB Kookmin Bank on Yeouido, Seoul, July 10. At the teleconference gathering, officials shared ideas for effective corporate management following drastically changed business conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During a following speech, Yoon called for a back-to-basics growth strategy bolstered by robust sales and financing, keys to corporate survival amid a shifting paradigm. Courtesy of KB Financial Group

Jul 12, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
E-workshop for latter half

Is Naver poised to dominate financial services?

Naver CEO Han Seong-seook / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunAttention is focusing on IT giant Naver as it takes strides into the financial services sector, setting up a corporate body Thursday that will offer insurance services. Naver registered NF Insurance Service as an affiliate of its financial services subsidiary. NF stands for Naver Financial, the financial services subsidiary of the tech firm set up last November.Documents submitted for NF Insurance Service state it has been established for various businesses including insurance sales through channels that include telemarketing, and developing software."We are looking to partner with insurers, but specific business plans have not been fixed,” a Naver Financial official said Friday.It appears the Naver insurance unit will function as a platform offering the policies of existing insurers. Naver's move comes as Kakao Pay, a subsidiary of tech firm Kakao, readies to launch a digital non-life insurer.Naver CEO Han Seong-sook said earlier this year: “Starting with the Naver account, we will enable users to access services i

Jul 10, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
Is Naver poised to dominate financial services?

Woori continues to see its reputation tarnished

By Kim Bo-eunWoori Bank's headquarters in central Seoul / Korea Times fileA massive scandal involving banks' mis-selling of financial derivative products dealt a blow to Woori Bank last year, and the lender continues to see its reputation tarnished over continued misconduct.The Financial Services Commission (FSC) recently finalized an 800 million won fine for Woori, with regards to a system error that occurred in May 2018.The country's top financial authority imposed a 500 million won penalty on Woori for the system error that caused delays in mobile banking transactions and disabled money transfer to other lenders. Woori said the error was caused in the early stages of a newly introduced system.The FSC imposed another 300 million fine for failing to prevent a second set of disruptions caused by another system error that occurred in September the same year.The penalty comes as Woori faces a sanction for a different case in which its employee mishandled customer data.Woori Bank officials at 200 branches nationwide were found to have changed the personal identification number of custom

Jul 9, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
Woori continues to see its reputation tarnished

KKR facing concerns in managing Shinhan's fund

KKR Co-President Joseph Bae, left, and Shinhan Chairman Cho Yong-byoung / Korea Times fileBy Park Jae-hyukKohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) is facing growing concerns over the management of its $50 million real estate and infrastructure fund raised in collaboration with Shinhan Financial Group, as on-site due diligence has become practically impossible amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to industry sources, Thursday.KKR and Shinhan signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2018, under which the two would explore new opportunities in global alternative investments. They also agreed to raise two tailor-made funds collectively worth $200 million.Shinhan's bank, brokerage and life insurer units jointly raised $150 million to use the money for investments in a private equity fund (PEF) in which KKR had shown its expertise.This was part of Shinhan's efforts to learn from KKR's experience and knowledge in global investments, because the latter had agreed to give the former wider access to details of its management, in contrast with most asset management firms operating fund

Jul 9, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
KKR facing concerns in managing Shinhan's fund

Are card firms too lax in monitoring overseas payments?

Stickers of card firms are seen on a window of a restaurant in this file photo. / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunThe surfacing of a mass card data theft case last month is raising questions about efforts card firms are taking to prevent payment fraud using stolen data, especially on overseas websites.In the latest case, a total of 10 million won in payments were made with the stolen data of 617,000 cards by a suspect who attempted to hack commercial banks last year.While the case reported is presumed to have occurred through data breaches involving card swipe machines known as point of sale (POS) terminals. Most merchants have changed their devices to IC card payment terminals, which are regarded as more secure regarding the possibility of data breach.Card firms would not be directly responsible for data breaches occurring from card swipe devices but they are in charge of detecting suspicious transactions that take place using such stolen data.All card companies have fraud detection systems, but the latest case has shown the existing systems are insufficient.Investigations into the cas

Jul 9, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
Are card firms too lax in monitoring overseas payments?

Hong draws attention over Lina Korea's performance

Lina Korea CEO Benjamin Hong, left, poses with Korea Marketing Association (KMA) Chairman Han Sang-man, after receiving the KMA's CEO of the Year Award at Kyungpook University, June 27. / Courtesy of Lina KoreaBy Kim Bo-eunBenjamin Hong, CEO of the U.S. insurer Cigna's subsidiary Lina Korea, is drawing attention for his achievements as he nears the end of his 10-year term.Hong has kept a low profile, rejecting media interviews, but has proved his competence through Lina's performance.Lina ranks 20th out of 24 life insurers here in terms of total assets, but is the third in terms of net profit which stood at 350 billion won last year from 97 billion won in 2010, the year when Hong took the top company seat. Hong took a differentiated marketing strategy by only setting up a telemarketing channel. Lina does not operate a person-to-person sales channel. Lina said because it focused on telemarketing, its insurance policies were developed to be simple and easy to understand. In addition, based on limited engagement compared to physical and face-to-face channels, Lina developed what it clai

Jul 9, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
Hong draws attention over Lina Korea's performance

Mirae Asset to stay in Hong Kong for investments in China

Two International Finance Center, where Mirae Asset Daewoo operates its Hong Kong subsidiary, is seen in this file photo. / Courtesy of Mirae Asset DaewooBy Park Jae-hyukThe deepening political crisis in Hong Kong, following Beijing's passage of the national security law and Washington's elimination of the financial hub's special status, is raising concerns for Mirae Asset, which has used its affiliate in the city as a foothold for its global expansion since 2003.Amid fears of a possible exodus of businesses and capital from the city, some market observers thought Mirae Asset may focus more on Singapore, another highly desirable market where the asset manager established a subsidiary back in 2012.Sources close to the company, however, ruled out the possibility of a relocation scenario by stressing Mirae Asset will keep an eye on both Hong Kong and mainland China in terms of seeking investment opportunities.A Mirae Asset official indicated his company will keep its operation in Hong Kong, saying, “We have a subsidiary in London, and we've maintained its operation despite Brexit.

Jul 8, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Mirae Asset to stay in Hong Kong for investments in China

COVID-19 pushing banks to pursue stability over profitability

Bank clerks work at a sales office on Yeouido, Seoul in this file photo. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe spread of COVID-19 is pushing local banks to focus on soundness over profitability. With the pandemic escalating business uncertainty in every aspect of the economy, the banking industry is actively bracing for heightened unpredictability in the post-virus era.Commercial lenders are pressured to apply proper measures in terms of expanding risk management capabilities, as they face a growing burden over their massive anti-virus loans offered to the market. It's unlikely for these lenders to immediately retrieve the expanded loans in a timely manner as concerns persist over second and third waves of the virus spread here.The nation's four major financial holding companies ― such as KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori ― piled up allowances worth 730.5 billion won ($612 million) in the first quarter of this year, up 9.5 percent from a year ago. They are also considering expanding the size, as it is still relatively small in comparison with that from other developed countries such as the United Stat

Jul 7, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
COVID-19 pushing banks to pursue stability over profitability

KB Securities faces dilemma over overseas expansion

The KB Securities head office on Yeouido, Seoul / Courtesy of KB SecuritiesBy Park Jae-hyukIt's fair to say investing opportunities aren't entirely bounded by geography. If investors are attracted by reports of emerging economies and even booming growth in other countries, it's no question some investors will invest.The top principle is that investors just have to know how to get started because the central point of investing in foreign stocks is aimed at diversifying portfolios by actively embracing risks and taking a sizable stake in the growth of other economies.In the case of KB Securities, South Korea's leading brokerage, a lot of issues need to be addressed before “actually helping” investors, as its apparent incompetency in handling this is raising concern.Like many other domestic securities companies, KB Securities is eyeing countries in the ASEAN bloc, as the region is widely considered a “safe bet” in terms of minimizing management risks and winning more customers, given the quantity of Korean exporters there.But KB Securities Vietnam Joint Stock Com

Jul 7, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
KB Securities faces dilemma over overseas expansion
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