SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top financial regulator on Wednesday urged banks and other financial institutions to tighten screenings of applications for home mortgages in a move to block speculative demand for homes before the government’s stricter lending rules go into force. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-ku made the remarks at [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — With the likes of Kakao Bank and K-Bank stirring up a storm in the South Korean banking industry, traditional banks are flocking to recruit IT professionals to jump on the online bandwagon. Following the success of online-only banks in recent months that seems to be reshaping the landscape of [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — The Internet-only Kakao Bank has succeeded in starting big, gaining over 1 million clients in just five days following its launch, but how the initial clients are using the service suggests there is room for improvement, industry watchers said Tuesday. Kakao Bank outdid four-months-old K-Bank, the country’s first Internet-only [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Kakao Bank, South Korea’s second Internet-only bank, said Friday it attracted over 300,000 accounts during the bank’s first day of operations, far outpacing the growth of its competitor and traditional banks. Kakao Bank, led by Kakao Corp., operator of Korea’s dominant messaging app KakaoTalk, started operations Thursday, in the [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s second Internet-only bank, Kakao Bank, is set to begin operations Thursday, in the latest move by the government to reinvigorate the nation’s banking sector suffering from weaker growth. The planned launch of Kakao Bank, led by Kakao Corp., operator of Korea’s dominant messaging app KakaoTalk, came after [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s rapidly aging population is likely to reduce the nation’s overseas equities investment as seniors will likely move to sell assets due to falling living standards, researchers at the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday. As the global financial markets become more interconnected, older people will have a [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will lower the maximum legal lending rate to 24 percent from next year and strengthen supervision of private lenders, in a move to help ease financial burdens for desperate borrowers, the nation’s top financial regulator said Wednesday. Choi Jong-ku, the new chairman of the Financial Services Commission [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will cut credit card processing fees for small merchants starting later this month, in the latest move to push forward pro-consumer regulations against commission fees charged by financial service providers, the financial regulator said Tuesday. The move is in line with a campaign pledge by President Moon [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The combined spending by banks on social contributions again fell in 2016, marking its fourth straight year of decline despite their healthier earnings, industry data showed Monday. According to the data by the Korea Federation of Banks, 21 financial institutions, including five major retail banks, spent a total of [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — A decision to allow business owners and government employees to access Individual Retirement Plans (IRP) has the financial services industry abuzz. On the July 23, industry sources confirmed that the IRP’s current parameters for applicable clients will be expanded starting July 26. The reason for general excitement among banks, [...]