Business - The Korea Times

Scandinavian currencies no longer available at major Korean banks

Major commercial banks in Korea are ending exchange services for the currencies of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, industry officials said Tuesday. The shift comes amid growing supply instability as these Scandinavian countries rapidly move toward becoming cashless societies. Starting June 23, Woori Bank will halt all exchange services involving the Danish krone, Norwegian krone and Swedish krona. The bank had previously offered limited sales of these currencies at its exchange counter in Incheon International Airport, but the services will now be fully discontinued. The bank attributed the decision to the growing supply instability. Hana Bank and KB Kookmin Bank already suspended exchange services for these currencies last year. That leaves Shinhan Bank as the only commercial bank in Korea still offering exchange services — albeit limited — for these three currencies. While the bank also suspended transactions for high-denomination 1,000 kroner units, it announced that it would continue processing exchanges based on the availability of smaller denominations, such as 500 kroner bills. "Ban

May 28, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo

Scandinavian currencies no longer available at major Korean banks

Hana Financial rolls out housing pensions products for older adults

Hana Financial Group has launched a new housing pension product that allows owners of multiple high-value properties to qualify for enrollment, the lender announced Tuesday. Otherwise known as a reverse mortgage, this financial product allows homeowners to borrow against their home’s equity and receive monthly lifetime payouts. It helps older adults supplement their reduced income after retirement, but it results in a smaller inheritance for their children. The product was developed jointly by Hana Bank and Hana Life. It is available to people aged 55 and older. It is a nonrecourse product, meaning the heirs do not inherit debt even if the subscribers die and their home sells for lower than the loan balance. The lender bears the difference between the original price and the market price. If the home sells for higher than the loan balance, the heirs are able to inherit the difference. Hana said the product will be available at a fixed rate of 3.95 percent for long-term security. The lender said the product will offer many older customers better postretirement planning. “Korea’s second b

May 27, 2025By Lee Kyung-min

Hana Financial rolls out housing pensions products for older adults

BOK head underscores private sector cooperation in central bank-led digital currency project

Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong is holding individual and group meetings with the heads of Korea’s six major commercial and state-run lenders. According to market watchers Tuesday, the move is unprecedented for the central bank and signals a push for greater participation in its key digital currency initiatives. Central to the meetings were Project Agora and Project Hangang. The former is a global central bank digital currency (CBDC) project spearheaded by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Participants include the central banks of the U.S., U.K., Japan, France, Switzerland and Mexico and the Institute of International Finance (IIF). It explores how cross-border settlements and payments can be faster, cheaper and more stable with the help of tokenized wholesale central bank funds and commercial bank deposits. The latter is a localized pilot version of the project whereby real-time CBDC-mediated transactions are being tested by 10,000 users. Unlike the global cross-border project, the participants are limited to Korean consumers. According to the central bank and the financ

May 27, 2025By Lee Kyung-min

BOK head underscores private sector cooperation in central bank-led digital currency project

Turbulent global economy shakes up KOSPI market cap rankings

Top-ranked companies by market capitalization on the benchmark KOSPI are experiencing ups and downs in the face of global economic turbulence under U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term. Multiple companies have either moved up or down on the market cap list, after Trump made a tumultuous return to the White House on Jan. 20 and unleashed policies that challenged international norms. The listed firms’ fortunes diverged in relation to Trump’s aggressive tariff policy, commitment to enhance military capabilities and unstable monetary shifts, which were behind the financial market volatility around the world. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), Korea's top carmaker Hyundai Motor saw its market cap at 37.15 trillion won ($27.11 billion), Tuesday, down from 44.29 trillion won on Jan. 2, as the U.S. trade barrier takes a toll on car exports. On April 3, the Trump administration imposed a 25 percent tariff on imported cars as part of item-specific duties. The measure is separate from a 25 percent “reciprocal” tariff that is at the center of Washington’s hostile trade policies a

May 27, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Turbulent global economy shakes up KOSPI market cap rankings

Financial group heads boost offshore investor relations efforts

Heads of Korea’s leading financial groups are rushing to fortify offshore investor relations (IR) efforts in a move to accelerate portfolio diversification and attract a strong inflow of foreign investments, market watchers said Monday. Propelling the collective move is the rapid saturation of the tightly regulated domestic market amid fierce competition. Also at play is a growing need to demonstrate strong commitment from the top decision maker, reinforced by increasing foreign stakes in financial entities’ shares, reaching up to 70 percent of the total. According to the financial industry, Woori Financial Group Chairman Yim Jong-yong is on a trip to Indonesia and Hong Kong through Friday. He plans to meet with overseas investors and will be briefed on the group’s global businesses. During the Hong Kong meeting, the chair will give presentations to major shareholders as well as global institutional investors. Central to his first solo IR activity is the group’s recent acquisition of Tongyang Life ABL Life, the much-drawn-out merger Woori needed to bolster the nonbanking business. T

May 26, 2025By Lee Kyung-min

Financial group heads boost offshore investor relations efforts

Hanwha Life earns A1 rating from Moody’s on improved profitability

Moody’s has raised Hanwha Life Insurance’s credit rating from A2 to A1 and assigned a stable outlook, the insurer said Monday. In its rating rationale, the global credit rating agency said that Hanwha Life’s improved product mix and strengthened distribution capabilities — particularly through its general agency subsidiary — supported the upgrade. "The company’s minimal asset-liability duration gap will provide its regulatory solvency with strong resilience against interest rate risks amid declining interest rates," the agency noted, adding that it expects the firm to maintain solid capitalization and strong profitability over the next 12 to 18 months. This marks the latest in a series of upgrades for the insurer, following rating improvements in March by Korea’s three major credit rating agencies and an upgrade by global agency Fitch in May. "The credit rating upgrades by both domestic and global agencies, including Moody’s and Fitch, reflect growing recognition of our strong profitability and financial stability in the global market," a Hanwha Life official said.

May 26, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Hanwha Life earns A1 rating from Moody’s on improved profitability

Toss named official partner for Harvard Business School experiential course

Toss said Monday that it has been selected as an official partner for Harvard Business School's global experiential learning program, "FIELD Global Capstone." The course is designed to enhance students' practical skills and teamwork in diverse, real-world settings, with over 900 students engaging simultaneously around the world. Toss was selected as one of the partner companies across 14 global cities. From May 12 to May 19, MBA students from Harvard Business School visited Toss’s headquarters in Seoul to conduct a weeklong research assignment. The focus of their study was mobile usability among millennials and older generations. In preparation, the students held several weeks of preliminary meetings with the Toss team to establish initial hypotheses and conduct user research. Toss's product managers, user experience designers and strategy leads working on senior-focused services helped them develop a stronger understanding of the company’s service design philosophy and business context. Based on this collaboration, the students refined their hypotheses through interviews with U.S.-b

May 26, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo

Toss named official partner for Harvard Business School experiential course

SC Korea launches ‘Wealth Saver’ account for faster asset growth

Standard Chartered (SC) Korea has launched a “Wealth Saver” account, a savings account that offers an annual interest rate of up to 2.8 percent, the lender said Monday. Subscribers to the account will receive an interest rate of between 1 percent and 2.8 percent, as determined by the balance of their Korean currency, foreign currency and funds account at the last business day of the month prior. The rate applied will depend on several conditions. The customers should have an increase of at least 10 million won ($7,330) compared to three months earlier. They should also have a combined balance of at least 20 million won in their Korean currency and foreign currency accounts. Of eligible customers, the maximum 2.8 percent interest will be given to those with an account balance of 1 billion won and over. The figure will be 2.6 percent for those with 300 million won and more and 2.4 percent for those with over 100 million won. Holders of under 100 million won in their account will be applied 1 percent. Those with less than 10 million won will be applied an interest rate of 0.1 percent. Howe

May 26, 2025By Lee Kyung-min

SC Korea launches ‘Wealth Saver’ account for faster asset growth

Insurance firms' lending down in Q1

Loans extended by insurance companies in South Korea fell in the first quarter of the year amid high interest rates and tightened lending rules, data showed Monday. Insurers' outstanding loans had reached 267.8 trillion won ($195.5 billion) as of the end of March, down 0.8 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The reading also marks a 1.8 trillion-won fall from three months earlier. The on-year decrease was attributed to a decline in loans extended to businesses. Household lending had stood at 134.9 trillion won as of end-March, up 1.2 trillion won from a year before, while corporate lending shrank by 2 trillion won to 132.8 trillion won over the cited period. The loan delinquency rate, which measures the proportion of loan principal or interest unpaid for at least a month, stood at 0.66 percent at end-March, up 0.12 percent from a year earlier, according to the financial watchdog. The rate of insurers' nonperforming loans came to 0.91 percent at the end of March, up 0.15 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.

May 26, 2025By Yonhap

Hana Bank enhances AI-powered customer service for greater efficiency

Hana Bank has upgraded its artificial intelligence (AI) customer service platform, significantly enhancing both service speed and system efficiency, the lender said Sunday. This is the first real-time conversation summary and classification service provided by Korea’s banking sector, a feat Hana achieved with the joint efforts of Hana Financial TI, an in-house tech affiliate of Hana Financial Group. The upgraded system automatically summarizes conversations between customers and Hana customer service employees and categorizes the content in real time. This allows Hana employees to respond more quickly and accurately. The upgraded version is also expected to enable more efficient management of rising call volumes and enhance customer satisfaction. It also enables the bank to formulate marketing strategies based on personalized product recommendations and post-consultation service. Hana Bank CEO Lee Ho-seoung demonstrated the service in person at the lender’s customer care center in Seoul, stressing Hana’s commitment to a faster, more precise service. “We will continue innovation effo

May 25, 2025By Lee Kyung-min

Banking & Finance