SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Big brokerages in South Korea saw their investment banking unit report solid profits in the first nine months of this year, overtaking commission fees as their main profit driver, data showed Monday. Mirae Asset Daewoo Co., the nation’s largest brokerage, reported an operating profit of 249.8 billion won (US$214.6 [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — A non-profit financial organization has introduced a new service to analyze the usage of ATMs across a number of regions. The Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (KFTC) will begin testing the cash dispensers (CD) and automated teller machines (ATM) operational effectiveness diagnostic services jointly with the banking sector [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Local securities firms are moving quickly to preempt the emerging retirement pension market as a future growth engine. The government will push for the mandatory introduction of retirement pensions through a legal revision, while introducing a retirement pension fund for small and medium-sized companies. The plan is aimed at [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s financial regulator on Thursday unveiled a raft of measures to better protect consumers in the wake of improper sales of derivatives linked to overseas interest rates that carry the risk of losing nearly all the money invested in them. Under the measures, banks will be banned from [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Recent data has confirmed that it is almost impossible for bankers to reach executive positions. According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s Financial Statistics and Information System, out of 230,595 employees working in the country’s financial sector, including banks and insurers, as of the end of June, only 2,969 were [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — A new financial service will be introduced early next year that allows consumers to buy products in cash and receive change via their bank account at convenience stores and shopping malls. The Bank of Korea (BOK) announced on Thursday that it is now recruiting distributors who wish to participate [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean business executive who has been actively working for startups in the financial sector that have been trying to navigate murky regulations is gaining praise from the industry. Recently, Kim Sung-joon, CEO of startup Lendit, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lender, said on SNS that “A major incident has [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — A so-called “open banking” service, which allows users to withdraw and transfer money from multiple bank accounts using just one mobile application, will be put into operation on a trial basis. Ten major South Korean banks, including KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, began piloting open banking at 9 [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The value of daily money transfers via mobile payment apps in South Korea surpassed 200 billion won (US$168.6 million) in the first half of the year, central bank data showed Thursday, as more people used smartphones for financial services. The value of daily money transfers via smartphone apps, such [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial regulator said Tuesday it received applications from three consortia, including one led by a fintech firm, for a license to set up a new internet-only bank. Fintech firm Viva Republica led one consortium, which included KEB Hana Bank, Hanwha Investment & Securities and the Korean unit [...]