SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — K-Bank, a South Korean internet-only bank, said Friday it has begun the process of an initial public offering (IPO) as part of efforts to raise funds to strengthen its foothold as a major digital financial platform. K-Bank sent a request for proposal to local and foreign securities firms earlier [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — A Seoul court has rejected a Hong Kong-based private equity firm’s request for Kyobo Life Insurance Co. to carry out its obligation with regard to a put option that it has been trying to exercise, the South Korean insurer said Tuesday. The ruling appears to have removed a major [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Dividends by South Korea’s four major financial holding firms are expected to hit an all-time high in 2021 as they have decided to return more of their bumper profits to shareholders, sources said Monday. The combined dividend payout of the four is likely to reach around 3.83 trillion won [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major commercial banks have launched a series of video consultation windows, enabling customers to enjoy a variety of banking services through video consultations with bank specialists. Woori Bank opened its video consultation window ‘digital desk’ on Monday. For those who visit the bank’s branches, the digital desk’s [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean insurance firms’ earnings jumped more than 37 percent in the first nine months of this year amid the coronavirus pandemic and a bullish stock market, data showed Thursday. The combined net profit of insurance companies operating in South Korea came to 7.63 trillion won (US$6.4 billion) in [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Eugene PE, the private equity firm of South Korea’s Eugene Group, and four others have been chosen to buy a combined 9.3 percent government-held stake in Woori Financial Holdings Co. for 897.7 billion won (US$754.1 million), South Korea’s financial regulator said Monday. The move will put an end to [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s top life insurer, said Monday that it has agreed to launch a joint investment fund with the state-run postal agency for overseas investments. In a preliminary deal signed with Korea Post, Samsung Life Insurance said that they will launch the joint investment fund [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — A German legal expenses insurance company that chose South Korea as its first Asian market has closed down after 12 years in business. The Financial Services Commission said Wednesday that DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Co. decided to shut down and disband all businesses at a recent shareholder’s meeting, and [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean internet-only banks said Tuesday their third-quarter profits sharply increased on robust growth in customers and deposits. K-Bank, controlled by a consortium of telecom giant KT Corp., Woori Bank and 19 other companies, saw its third-quarter earnings more than double from three months earlier. Net profit came to [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Citibank Korea Inc., the Korean unit of U.S. banking giant Citigroup, said Monday that it will close its retail banking services “in phases” in line with a global business reorganization drive. Citibank Korea held a board meeting on Friday and made the decision to pull out from consumer banking [...]