SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — More than eight out of 10 bond traders expect the central bank to keep its policy rate steady this week amid housing market instability and increased volatility in the foreign exchange market, a survey showed Tuesday. According to the survey conducted by the Korea Financial Investment Association last week, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s household credit hit a fresh high in the second quarter of this year, amid a rise in loans borrowed for real estate purchases, the central bank said Tuesday. The outstanding credit to households stood at 1,952.8 trillion won (US$1.4 trillion) as of end-June, up 24.6 trillion won [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 15(Korea Bizwire) — August 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the introduction of comprehensive property trust services in South Korea, but industry experts warn the system remains largely symbolic, hindered by outdated regulations. Despite growing interest in asset management services amid rising household wealth, comprehensive property trusts—which allow financial institutions to collectively manage [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul’s central bank said Monday it has signed a renewed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with its Vietnamese counterpart, the State Bank of Vietnam, to promote bilateral partnership. The updated MOU, initially signed in 2004, aims to deepen cooperation in various areas between the two central banks, including monetary policy [...]
SEOUL, August 5 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s major banks are ramping up restrictions on home-backed loans and jeonse (long-term rental deposit) financing, signaling a coordinated move to cool the property market and manage household debt more tightly. On August 5, Hana Bank announced it would halt new applications for mortgage and jeonse loans scheduled for [...]
SEOUL, July 30 (Korea Bizwire) — More than 100 Gyeonggi Province residents have received compensation through the region’s pioneering climate insurance program, as record heatwaves continue to drive a sharp rise in heat-related illnesses. As of July 28, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government reported a total of 110 insurance payouts: 60 cases related to heat illness, [...]
SEOUL, July 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major banks are ramping up corporate lending and support for small businesses in response to President Lee Jae-myung’s recent rebuke of the financial sector for relying too heavily on mortgage lending to drive profits. During a policy meeting on July 24, President Lee criticized banks for [...]
SEOUL, July 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank said Thursday it will sell up to 8 trillion won (US$5.83 billion) worth of monetary stabilization bonds (MSBs) next month. The planned issuance represents an 800 billion-won increase from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). As policy tools devised to absorb [...]
SEOUL, July 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Executives at South Korea’s major financial holding companies are reaping substantial gains from their personal stock purchases, as share prices of leading banks surge to record highs. According to financial industry data on Tuesday, three of the nation’s top four financial groups — Shinhan, Hana, and Woori — all [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Financially troubled MG Non-Life Insurance Co. may be put back on the selling block after the country’s financial regulator and the company’s labor union tentatively agreed on the matter, industry sources said Monday. In May this year, the Financial Services Commission said it has decided to liquidate MG Non-Life [...]