K bank, one of South Korea’s two internet-only banks, is on the brink of financial troubles as plans for new capital injection by its operator KT have been halted by a regulatory delay.Though K bank’s shareholders have begun drawing up a new action plan for capital procurement, it is uncertain whether it can be executed to success.The Financial Services Commission decided last week to indefinitely suspend its review of KT’s application to increase its stake in K bank due to an

Market April 23, 2019

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles spotlighting the stories and opinions of female executives in Korea’s finance-banking industry, where the glass ceiling remains. - Ed.In the early 1990s, South Korea’s corporate landscape had a distinct characteristic: Men made up and led the country’s primary workforce. The banking-finance industry was no exception. During this time, Korean banks had separate hiring and wage systems for men and women. Female employees were al

Market April 22, 2019

With Hanwha Group having dropped out, Hana Financial Group has emerged as a strong bidder for ownership of Lotte Card -- a development that portends major shifts in South Korea’s credit card business.Last week, Hana Financial and two private equity funds officially joined the bidding process to acquire Lotte Card. Hanwha, which had shown an interest in the deal, did not enter the bidding, leaving Hana as the sole big-name financial corporation in the race.If Hana Financial ends up acquirin

Market April 22, 2019

South Korea’s financial regulator is seeking to bolster the business of local firms in Southeast Asia, widely considered the “next China.”　The Financial Supervisory Service hosted an event Friday in light of the Moon Jae-in government’s “New Southern Policy” which strives to elevate diplomatic and economic ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as India. Yoo Kwang-yeol, first senior deputy governor of the FSS, called on Korean firms to b

Market April 19, 2019

South Korea’s financial regulator on Wednesday designated nine financial technology services as the first participants in the newly enacted “regulatory sandbox” policy for the finance sector.The Financial Services Commission’s special panel selected nine services based on the “strength of their innovation, envisioned consumer benefits, and user protection and security measures.” As a result, these services will operate as part of a regulatory sandbox -- a mech

Market April 17, 2019

Hyundai Capital, the financing arm of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, and Santander Brasil celebrated the launch of their joint venture, Banco Hyundai Capital Brasil S.A., in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, pledging tailored auto financing services for customers and dealers in Brazil.The joint venture marks Hyundai Capital’s first foray into the Latin American market and forms the first exclusive consumer financing service provider in Brazil for Hyundai Motor, the firm said.Banco Hyundai

Market April 17, 2019

South Korea’s financial regulator plans to launch at the year’s end an “open banking” system that grants financial technology firms access to the payment networks of commercial banks, moving forward the government’s ongoing effort to spur fintech innovation.The open banking network, scheduled to go live in December, will make way for the operation of all-in-one banking apps that allow users to access the money transfer and payment functions of various banks on a sin

Market April 16, 2019

South Korea’s chief financial supervisory body and the central bank on Monday launched a joint audit into the country’s four major commercial banks to scrutinize their loan products offered to small business owners. The Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea are working together to examine the related business practices of the four banks: Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank. Shinhan was the first bank to undergo the audit Monday, which was initiat

Market April 15, 2019

Since their launch two years ago, South Korea’s two internet-only banks, Kakao Bank and K bank, have steadily built up a sizeable user base, proving the merits of branchless banks to financial consumers here.　And now, Kakao Bank, run by Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao, and K bank, led by telecommunications firm KT, have set out to expand the scope of their business through capital injection enabled by a recent change to the local banking law.However, the two firms have encountered new

Market April 14, 2019

South Korea’s employment rate reached a record 60.4 percent in March, with the number of newly added hires rising by around 250,000 from the previous month, data from the state-run statistics agency showed Wednesday.　Statistics Korea said the number of employed people stood at 26.8 million in March, increasing by 250,000 from the same month last year. This builds on the improvement seen in February, when the employed population grew by 200,000 on-month. 　This brings the employment rate --

Economy April 10, 2019

The chief of South Korea’s top financial regulator met with the CEOs of local credit card companies Tuesday to finalize measures aimed to diversify income sources and prevent further losses suffered by the card industry following a cut in card transaction fees.　The measures included putting a cap on lofty marketing expenses and allowing credit card firms to operate services analyzing and managing credit information in order to help improve profitability.　While the card industry acknowledge

Market April 9, 2019

Woori Financial Group said Monday it has closed a deal to acquire Tongyang Asset Management and ABL Global Asset Management, marking its first acquisition deal since the group’s adoption of a holding company structure earlier this year. Woori Financial signed a stock purchase agreement with China’s Anbang Insurance Group to acquire its two asset management subsidiaries, closing a deal that is expected to help the group expand its nonbanking business segment. The deal comes around thr

Market April 8, 2019

The chief of South Korea’s financial supervisory body on Friday stressed “inclusive finance” and “responsible innovation” as the key drivers of its regulatory oversight this year as the country prepares for explosive growth in the fintech sector.Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Yoon Suk-heun called on foreign financial firms here to “bring in a new wave of financial inclusion and responsible innovation to the Korean financial industry.”Yoon was speakin

Market April 5, 2019

Global banks operating in South Korea have once again come under close scrutiny for the size of dividends they have paid their parent companies, following their recent announcement of annual earnings and dividend policies for the year. Come every year, major global banks -- namely Standard Chartered Bank Korea and Citibank Korea -- get flak for paying their parent firms generous dividends that exceed their annual net profit. And this year is no exception.While within legal bounds, their dividend

Market April 4, 2019

Viva Republica, operator of South Korea’s leading mobile payment and finance platform Toss, on Thursday announced the launch of Toss Card for both offline and online use.　The Toss Card connects to users’ Toss account and is linked to their commercial bank accounts, thus functioning like a debit card. It can be used across all BC Card retailers, the firm said. The card comes in two colors -- black and silver -- and is able to support a maximum of 2 million won ($1,760) per paymen

Market April 4, 2019