Business - The Korea Times

Son to lead NongHyup Bank

NongHyup Bank CEO nominee Son Byung-hwanBy Park Jae-hyukNongHyup Financial Group said Friday its executive recommendation committee has nominated incumbent Vice President Son Byung-hwan as the sole candidate for CEO of NongHyup Bank for a two-year term starting March 26.His appointment will be finalized after a general shareholders meeting slated for March 24.Since the committee began the recommendation procedure March 4, it shortlisted candidates taking into account their management ability, expertise and “digital capability.”After in-depth interviews Friday, it nominated Son as the bank's new CEO.The nominee has been in charge of designing the financial group's business strategies.He is also known for his knowledge of the digital environment as he previously served as the leader of the bank's division developing smart financing.

Mar 20, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

Financial groups raise alert on coronavirus impact

By Lee Kyung-min Financial groups in Korea are rushing to set up control centers for efficient market monitoring in a collective move to prevent virus-triggered financial risks translating into corporate deterioration, industry officials said Thursday.Key tasks are assigned to different teams to diversify risk absorption while efforts are ongoing to maintain lines of credit to the hardest-hit borrowers including lowering interest rates and extending credit guarantee-mediated loans to many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Woori Financial Group said it set up an emergency management control center Tuesday to better counter possible fallout from rapidly escalating financial market volatility.They will make a recommendation on the previous corporate strategy following close monitoring and analysis of key macro and real market indices including interest rates, growth outlook, foreign exchange rates, oil prices and the stock market.A number of teams set up will be tasked with primary functions ranging from overall corporate strategies, financial management, risk management and ma

Mar 19, 2020By Lee Kyung-min

Financial groups raise alert on coronavirus impact

INTERVIEW Korean-Australian wealth manager full of ambition

Solomons Group managing partner Johnny Shin, fifth from left, poses with his corporate advisory team members at the company's Sydney office in this 2019 file photo. / Courtesy of Solomons GroupBy Park Jae-hyukSolomons Group managing partner Johnny Shin, 32, lives up to his favorite William Pollard quote, “The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.”The private wealth adviser, who also has a Korean name, Shin Yong-ha, founded the wealth management company in Brisbane last year.Based on his career at Macquarie Group and Ord Minnett, a private wealth management group owned by J.P. Morgan Chase, the Korean-Australian has led his company with colleagues who worked with him at his previous workplaces.At its offices in Sydney and Brisbane, Solomons offers private wealth management and corporate advisory services.In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Shin said he dreams of expanding his company's offices further in strategic and key locations such as Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore within the next five years as demand for

Mar 19, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

[INTERVIEW] Korean-Australian wealth manager full of ambition

Donating blood

Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) workers donate blood at the bank's headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul, March 17. The bank is among many financial services firms encouraging workers to donate blood amid a severe shortage caused by the fast-spreading new coronavirus. Courtesy of Eximbank

Mar 18, 2020By Lee Kyung-min

CEO Watch Single leadership puts Yuanta Securities Korea CEO to test

Kuo to focus on strengthening overseas businessBy Kim Bo-eunKuo Ming-chengKuo Ming-cheng, the Taiwanese CEO of Yuanta Securities' Korean subsidiary who served a co-leadership position with his Korean counterpart Suh Myung-suk, is set to lead the brokerage's Korea business on his own.Yuanta Securities is Taiwan's largest brokerage and a subsidiary of Yuanta Financial Holdings. Yuanta entered the Korean market in 2014 by acquiring the troubled Tongyang Securities. Kuo assumed his position in March last year. Prior to taking the position, Kuo was Yuanta Financial Holdings' Chief Corporate Banking Officer, and served in key positions at the group's affiliates.Based on his extensive experience, Kuo is expected to boost Yuanta Securities' competitiveness by making the Korean subsidiary a key base, utilizing networks in the greater China region.Since Kuo joined last year, Yuanta has been preparing to boost its overseas business, by setting up a global investment division and global asset management team.The global investment division is bridging local businesses with investment capital in t

Mar 18, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

[CEO Watch] Single leadership puts Yuanta Securities Korea CEO to test

Financial groups' stocks on course toward further decline

By Anna J. Park Major financial groups' stocks are expected to continue their bearish runs due to a mixture of worsening profitability caused by falling net interest margins (NIMs) and the shock from the rapid spread of COVID-19, analysts said Monday.They expect that the top four group stocks ― Shinhan, KB, Hana and Woori ― are unlikely to bounce back in the immediate future, as central banks around the world have joined a global wave of rate cuts amid fears that the coronavirus could trigger a global financial crisis.The Bank of Korea's (BOK) cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to a record low of 0.75 percent at an emergency monetary board meeting Monday.In line with a further interest rate cut, banks' net interest margin (NIM) is expected to decrease by some 5 basis points (0.05 percentage points) during the first quarter of this year. This shows the negative impact from COVID-19, as market analysts previously expected the NIM index would decrease about 1 to 2 basis points during the first quarter. NIM, the difference between the interest rate a bank receives from loans an

Mar 18, 2020By Anna J. Park

Financial groups' stocks on course toward further decline

Kakao Bank posts first annual surplus in 2019

By Anna J. ParkKakao Bank, one of the nation's two internet-only banks, recorded its first annual surplus in 2019, since its launch in July 2017, on the back of solid growth in earnings from its loan business.The bank said that it posted a net profit of 13.7 billion won ($11.3 million) last year, a major turnaround from net losses of 21 billion won in 2018 and 104.5 billion won in 2017.?The lender's total assets reached 22.7 trillion won at the end of last year, up 86 percent from the previous year. The number of customers also increased to 11.28 million, over a fifth of South Korea's population.Kakao Bank, led by CEO Yun Ho-young, explained that part of the reason behind the bank's turnaround lies in the rise in its interest earnings from new loans. The mobile-based bank's credit balance stood at 14.8 trillion won at the end of last December, up 63 percent from the previous year.Non-interest profits, such as fees and charges, also contributed to the bank's surplus. The bank has allowed users to open a securities account on its mobile platform, after it partnered with Korea Investmen

Mar 18, 2020By Anna J. Park

Kakao Bank posts first annual surplus in 2019

Examining SMEs' fallout from coronavirus

Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) CEO Yoon Jong-won speaks with officials of Hutech Engineering, a metal cutting machine manufacturer, at the company's factory at Siwa Industrial Complex in Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. IBK said Yoon visited the firm to examine small and medium-sized companies' fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. / Courtesy of IBK

Mar 17, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

Examining SMEs' fallout from coronavirus

Kakao Bank to come under sole leadership of Yun Ho-young

By Kim Bo-eunYun Ho-youngKakao Bank said Tuesday the internet lender will be led solely by the current CEO Yun Ho-young, after the departure of co-CEO Lee Yong-woo.The bank said the decision not to appoint another co-CEO was made at a committee meeting ahead of the shareholders meeting to be held at the end of this month.Lee left in January after joining the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, ahead of the general election slated for April 15."Yun is Korea's greatest expert when it comes to the convergence of IT and finance, and we have determined that he is the most apt to lead Kakao Bank in a Big Blur era," a Kakao Bank committee member said.The "big blur" refers to a boundary blurring phenomena seen among industries based on the development of information and communication technology (ICT).Yun began his career at Daehan Fire & Marine Insurance acquired by Lotte, and also worked with another non-life insurer, ERGO Daumdirect. He then moved to portal operator Daum. Yun became Kakao's vice president after Kakao acquired Daum.Yun was in charge of preparations for the foundation of K

Mar 17, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

Kakao Bank to come under sole leadership of Yun Ho-young

Zero Pay catches on amid pandemic

Seoul Mayor Park won-soon, left, pays for purchases with the Zero Pay mobile payment app at a convenience store in Seoul in this May 2019 file photo. / YonhapSeoul mayor criticized for capitalizing on crisisBy Park Jae-hyukThe rapid spread of COVID-19 across the country has significantly raised the volume of payments made via Zero Pay, which had been sluggish since its launch in December 2018, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) said Monday.The unexpected popularity of the government-run mobile payment app has been attributed to the increased tendency to minimize human contact when paying for purchases, as the virus can be transferred from contaminated items as well as from human-to-human contact.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the daily average volume of payments with Zero Pay surpassed 714 million won ($585,000) during the first two weeks of March.The daily average number of payments reached 19,292 during the period.On March 2 alone, the payment volume hit a record-high of 970 million won.In February, the daily average payment volume was 594 million won, up 40 p

Mar 16, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

Banking & Finance

Banking & Finance

Son to lead NongHyup Bank

Financial groups raise alert on coronavirus impact

INTERVIEW Korean-Australian wealth manager full of ambition

Donating blood

CEO Watch Single leadership puts Yuanta Securities Korea CEO to test

Financial groups' stocks on course toward further decline

Kakao Bank posts first annual surplus in 2019

Examining SMEs' fallout from coronavirus

Kakao Bank to come under sole leadership of Yun Ho-young

Zero Pay catches on amid pandemic

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