Business - The Korea Times

Financial services for baseballers

Shinhan Bank Vice President Park Woo-hyuk, right, poses with KBO Secretary-General Ryu Dae-hwan at the Plaza Seoul, Thursday, after signing an agreement to offer asset management services to baseball players and coaching staff belonging to the professional baseball league, which the bank sponsors. / Courtesy of Shinhan Bank

Feb 6, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

Coronavirus to worsen Korean banks' profits

A man wearing a mask passes by the Hana Bank's main branch in downtown Seoul, Sunday. / YonhapS&P, JPMorgan expect earlier key rate cutBy Park Jae-hyukThe global economic slowdown led by the spread of the novel coronavirus will worsen financial stability and profitability of Korean banks over the next few quarters, according to S&P Global Ratings, Thursday.“The economic slowdown in China, the origin for the coronavirus, will weigh on export-reliant Korean companies,” the credit rating agency said in its recent report.“If the reduction in foreign operations and inbound tourists to Korea leads to the overall decrease in domestic consumption and household incomes, the financial soundness of Korean households with large debts will weaken.”S&P expected Korean banks' bad debts expense will increase gradually.“Due to the global oversupply and intensifying competition, shipbuilders, shippers and steelmakers will continue to suffer difficulties,” it said.“Manufacturers including carmakers are also facing setbacks as they temporarily suspen

Feb 6, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

Coronavirus to worsen Korean banks' profits

Brokerages may lose money due to Indonesian tycoon

Brokerages on Yeouido, Seoul. / gettyimagesbankBy Kim Bo-eunFive local brokerages face a high risk of losing money in Indonesia as their combined credit exposure to an Indonesian tycoon ― over 60 billion won ($50.54 million) ― has been frozen.According to data released by Rep. Ji Sang-wuk of the New Conservative Party, Tuesday, Hanson International Chairman Benny Tjokrosaputro owes the money to NH, Korea Investment & Securities, Shinhan, Mirae Asset Daewoo and Kiwoom Securities. The magnate faces liquidity problems due to a suspension of trading in his business' shares and an accounts freeze by Indonesian financial authorities.Forbes ranked Tjokrosaputro 43rd on the list of Indonesia's 50 richest people in 2018. His net worth was estimated at $670 million.But last October, Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK) ordered him to repay capital financed through “repo transactions.”Repo, which stands for repurchase agreement, is a form of short-term borrowing under which the dealer sells underlying securities to investors and buys them back.The chairman of one of In

Feb 5, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

Brokerages may lose money due to Indonesian tycoon

Donation for Australian wildfires

Pepper Savings Bank CEO Matthew Chang, left, poses with Rowan Petz, executive director at the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea, at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, Jan. 31. At the event held by the AustCham Korea, the Australia-headquartered financial institution donated 20 million won ($17,000) to the Salvation Army for recovery activities from the ongoing Australian bushfires. / Courtesy of Pepper Savings Bank

Feb 5, 2020By Anna J. Park

Woori union supports Son in fear of government control

Woori Financial Group Chairman and Woori Bank CEO Son Tae-seung, right, and Woori Bank union leader Park Pil-joon pose after signing an agreement on the reduced workweek in this 2018 file photo. / Courtesy of Woori BankBy Park Jae-hyukThe Woori Bank union has been giving wholehearted support to Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung, protesting the Financial Supervisory Service's (FSS) recent decision to punish him, according to industry officials, Wednesday.The punishment was imposed Jan. 30 for his failure to set up a proper internal control system for prevention of the derivative-linked fund (DLF) fiasco which caused major losses for investors in 2019.As a result, Son may be barred from serving additional terms as well as banned from serving other positions in the finance sector for three to five years.The union's support for the chairman has been considered to show its concerns about control by a former or incumbent government official over the commercial bank, in his place.“The recent decision was the unilateral abuse of power by the FSS, and it was intended to avoid

Feb 5, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

Woori union supports Son in fear of government control

KB to set up bank branch in Singapore

By Lee Min-hyungKB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyooKB Financial Group is in talks with the Singaporean government over setting up a bank branch there in a renewed effort to raise its profile in the Asian financial hub, according to sources directly linked with the matter. KB Kookmin Bank, the flagship of the financial group, closed its Singaporean office after Korea was hit hard by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. But with the city-state strengthening its stature as the top international financial center in Asia in recent years, the group has recently started engaging in re-entering the market.The bank is the only lender without a branch in Singapore among Korea's top four banks ― the other three are Shinhan, Woori and Hana.“The holding firm is in internal discussion to confirm what kinds of business will be pursued there, and is looking for models best fit for the market,” an industry source said.KB Financial Group will spearhead the drive in a comprehensive manner before its subsidiaries, including the banking, card and capital units, directly enter the market, a

Feb 4, 2020By Lee Min-hyung

First day at work

Korea Securities Depository (KSD) CEO Rhee Myong-ho, right, receives an ID card from an employee at the KSD headquarters in Busan, Tuesday. During an open forum a day earlier, the new CEO vowed to respect the firm's union which had protested against the former government official's appointment. The KSD decided not to hold an inaugural ceremony in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. / Courtesy of KSD

Feb 4, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

What matters to bankers? Corporate culture vs. pay

By Kim Bo-eunA KakaoBank employee, formerly employed by one of the nation's top four commercial banks, said he did not feel comfortable speaking directly to the internet bank's CEO, despite having spent several years working there.Throughout his tenure at the previous bank, the closest the employee ever came to the CEO was being on the other side of the room across from him during an annual ceremony.However, at KakaoBank, business is conducted a little more organically. Here, the CEO works directly with employees in a common area and they address each other by their English names. This is simply unthinkable at traditional Korean banks, which still remain very rigid in structure despite initiatives in recent years to adapt to changing times.KakaoBank employees can also decide how many hours they will work on a daily and weekly basis, based on familial or other personal needs.An employee of the internet bank can show up at work dressed in cycle gear, if he or she wants to go cycling after work.The atmosphere is just totally different, compared to bankers clad in dark suits wearing badg

Feb 4, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

What matters to bankers? Corporate culture vs. pay

Supporting energy firms

Export Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) CEO Bang Moon-kyu, center, poses with chiefs and executives of energy firms at the Korea Federation of Banks in central Seoul, Monday, after discussing ways to utilize natural gas. Bang pledged to increase financing for natural gas projects. / Courtesy of Eximbank

Feb 3, 2020By Kim Bo-eun

Woori skeptical of banking in Myanmar

Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung, left, and Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry Chairman U Zaw Min Win display a memorandum of understanding regarding support for Korean and Myanmarese companies, during the Korea-Myanmar Business Forum in Yangon in this September 2019 file photo. / Courtesy of Woori Financial GroupBy Park Jae-hyukWoori Bank has remained skeptical of operating a bank in Myanmar, in contrast with the other three major commercial banks here that have vied fiercely to hold a dominant position in the Southeast Asian country, according to industry officials, Monday.In January, the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) received applications from bidders for banking licenses that will be given to several foreign financial firms.A Woori Bank spokesman told The Korea Times his company did not join the bid.“We will focus on microfinancing in Myanmar for a while, rather than operating a banking business which still looks uncertain because of the poor financial system there,” he said. “At this moment, we do not have any plans to

Feb 3, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk

Banking & Finance