SEOUL, April 18 (Korea Bizwire) – Organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games on Tuesday signed KEB Hana Bank as their main banking partner. The two sides recently wrapped up their negotiations that began in February and announced their deal in a ceremony at KEB Hana Bank’s headquarters in central Seoul. The bank will reportedly [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — A rise in geopolitical risks surrounding North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile provocations is causing a surge in gold prices and fueling trade in the precious metal, the local exchange said Sunday. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), a gram of gold was trading at 46,840 won (US$41), up [...]
SEOUL, April 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Crowdfunding was a rather alien concept in South Korea up until 2015, when a revision to the Capital Market Act was passed by the National Assembly, paving the way for a practice called equity crowdfunding. Unlike reward-based crowdfunding, which compensates sponsors with different prizes, equity crowdfunding allows the investor [...]
SEOUL, April 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc., said Thursday it will offer financial services via online channels while closing about 80 percent of its physical branches in South Korea. Citibank, which recently announced a plan to reduce the number of physical branches to 32 from 133 in the country, has said it won’t slash staff, despite ongoing restructuring measures. Instead, about 800 workers at the branches facing closure will be relocated to either [...]
SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Last year, South Korea’s banking industry saw its employee count drop by 2,248 to 114,775, and 175 bank branches closed down – the biggest drop ever – with the number of ATMs falling to 48,474 from 51,115. The trends are reflective of the inevitable prevalence of internet banking. Bank [...]
SEOUL, April 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Obtaining discounts on health insurance premiums will become much easier for South Koreans starting in July. Discounted contracts, which provide up to 20 percent discounts on existing installments, are offered by 14 insurance companies for healthy individuals who meet certain health standards. However, only 3.8 percent of the subscribers [...]
SEOUL, April 12 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s household loans extended by local banks rose 10 percent in March from a year earlier due to increased mortgages, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding household loans from local lenders came to 713.9 trillion won (US$621 billion) as of end-March, compared with 649 trillion won from a [...]
SEOUL, April 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Seven major credit card companies are being accused of exploiting their customers after reports emerged showing they profited handsomely from high-interest loans despite prevailing low interest rates. Low interest rates in South Korea are seeing credit card companies enjoy some of the biggest profit spikes in recent years, with some [...]
SEJONG, April 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Korea’s financial services industry recorded 9.2 percent in output growth last year largely driven by interest revenues from growing household loans, government data showed on Sunday. According to Statistics Korea, the year-on-year production growth of financial institutions in 2016 was more than triple the 3 percent reported for the overall services industry. By institution, banks gained 9 percent, the highest since 11.8 percent in 2008. Nonbank [...]
SEOUL, April. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – K Bank, South Korea’s first internet-only bank that opened Monday after months of anticipation, is already off to a good start, leaving more excitement for the upcoming launch of the second bank of its kind, Kakao Bank. Over 100,000 locals had opened a K Bank account as of Thursday, [...]