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| Chiefs of financial authorities pose for pictures before attending a meeting to discuss countermeasures against the rapid spread of the coronavirus at the Korea Federation of Banks on Feb 14. From left are Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Joo-yeol, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Financial Supervisory Service Governor Yoon Suk-heun / Yonhap |
By Kim Bo-eun
The financial authorities have announced plans to minimize the fallout of the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) saying Monday that it would defer on-site regular audits of financial firms for the first quarter of the year.
The FSS said for Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the regions that have been most severely affected, all on-site inspections will be suspended.
"We will continue inspections only in cases involving major consumer losses, but these will be conducted under strict guidelines," an FSS official said, referring to inspections of the troubled Lime Asset Management and financial firms that sold Lime's funds.
The FSS said it has directed financial firms to map out contingency plans for branches that have been closed.
Chiefs of banks attended a meeting at the Korea Federation of Banks, Monday, to discuss measures to cope with the unwanted consequences of the virus.
Banks have closed multiple branches affected by the virus, and are conducting disinfection work. They have come up with contingency plans in the event their head offices need to be shut down and have enabled employees to work outside of the main branch.
The FSS also said it is closely monitoring the stock market for possible unfair trading practices, or voice phishing activities that are taking advantage of the situation surrounding the coronavirus.
The FSS chief cancelled a scheduled meeting Tuesday with the chairmen of the five major financial groups ― a breakfast meeting had been planned for Governor Yoon Suk-heun and the heads of Shinhan, KB, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) said it would keep incoming bills in its vault for two weeks, to prevent them from spreading the coronavirus. Bills come to the central bank after circulating through financial institutions, and the BOK said the measure was implemented considering the period of time a virus can survive on the surface of paper money.
Before the bills are distributed, they undergo a process in which they are exposed to heat that reaches 150 degrees Celsius to ensure that any virus is killed.
The BOK will be announcing its decision on the key rate Thursday. The central bank said it will forego its press briefing on the rate-setting meeting, instead broadcasting live on YouTube and Facebook.
The Korea Exchange (KRX) said it would postpone the Asian Oceanian Stock Exchanges Federation (ASOEF) meeting, which was set to be held from April 8 to 10, to next year.
The ASOEF is an association of stock exchange operators of 13 countries in Asia, including Korea, Japan and China.
The KRX said it will host the event in April next year in Busan.
The authorities said they will continue to monitor the financial market, which has shown volatility based on the spread of the virus, and take swift action against destabilizing factors.
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