Financial Shopping Malls to Be Established
By Park Hyong-ki
Staff Reporter
Consumers are expected to be able to conduct online banking transactions and choose financial products more easily as financial authorities are moving to ease regulations on Internet services.
In a meeting with the presidential office's national competitiveness council Thursday, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it will revise rules and regulations to encourage financial firms to establish Internet banks. The meeting was presided over by President Lee Myung-bak.
The FSC is considering easing equity capital regulations and adopting rules banning the use of false names in financial transactions onto Internet banking operations.
It has formed a task force, consisting of government officials, financial executives and researchers, to further discuss the matter. It plans to finalize the revision of Internet banking by the end of this year after holding a seminar to gather public opinion next month.
So far, Hyundai Swiss Savings Bank and the Korea Development Bank are gearing up to set up Internet banks, providing a variety of financial transaction services.
In addition, the regulatory body will devise a law, which will allow the establishment of a one-stop financial service shop, marketing all kinds of financial products, ranging from insurance policies, equity funds to credit cards and bank deposit products.
``We hope this will lead the industry to develop more innovative and creative financial products, and expect more jobs creation,'' said an FSC official.
It plans to devise a law allowing the establishment of a financial shopping mall, and implement it by 2010.
Currently, financial firms such as securities companies and banks are restricted in marketing other types of financial products unrelated to their business. Also, many prefer to introduce customers products developed by their sister companies, and refrain from marketing their competitors' products.
The council said in a statement, ``By adopting a negative system and allowing a more specialized financial firm to be set up, consumers can expect much more quality and diversified services.''
The FSC is also moving to increase loan accessibility for low-income earners by overhauling rules governing private moneylenders.
Should it carry out deregulatory plans successfully, FSC expects the country's financial industry to advance among the mid league of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. ``In the long-term, we are mapping out a plan to advance toward the top OCED financial league within 10 years.''
Since April, the council and the regulator have reviewed steps to deregulate some 1,300 financial barriers.