SEJONG, June 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans are cutting back on their cash gifts and donations as the economy remains sluggish, government data showed Friday. According to the data by Statistics Korea, transfer spending that includes cash given as wedding and condolence gifts fell in the first quarter after backtracking in the October-December period. [...]
“(The BOK) will likely proceed in the direction of sustaining its accommodative stance as it is difficult to be positive about domestic economic recovery. Policy circumstances may rapidly change due to factors such as a possible U.S. rate hike, but there is a need to be prudent in adjusting the stance of the monetary policy [...]
SEOUL, May 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Korean banks are decreasing the number of their ATMs around the nation to compensate for losses they have been facing due to a recent drop in net interest margins. According to industry representatives on May 17, the number of ATMs at 6 major Korean banks, KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, [...]
SEOUL, May 19 (Korea Bizwire) — One stop insurance supermarkets selling various insurance products like automobile, health and savings insurance online will begin service in September. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced that the new service enabling financial consumers to compare various insurance products in one place and to purchase best of breed products online [...]
TORONTO, ONT, CANADA, May 14, 2015 (Korea Bizwire) –The financial fitness of Canadians is a hot topic these days. Household debt is through the roof. Nearly 20,000 jobs disappeared across the Canadian economy in April. Housing markets are uncertain. But — household assets are up, and credit card delinquency is down. So — [...]
SEOUL, March 23 (Korea Bizwire) — A special financial service that converts a variable rate loan into a fixed rate loan will be launched by 16 Korean banks on March 24, as part of the Korean government’s efforts to mitigate household debt. However, each branch is expected to offer the service to an average of only [...]
SEOUL, March 15 (Korea Bizwire) – The poverty rate of South Korea’s elderly was by far the highest among advanced countries, while the net pension replacement rate for the population was one of the lowest, a report showed Sunday. According to the report from the government-funded Korea Labor Institute, South Korea’s poverty rate among elderly [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Upon the Bank of Korea’s decision to cut its base rate to a record low 1.75 percent on March 12, the Korean property market is expected to be injected with new vigor. Park Hap-Soo, chief of Kookmin Bank’s real estate department, said that the effect of the central bank’s rate cut [...]
SEJONG, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Student loans from the government rose nearly three-fold from 2010 to 2014 due to tuition increases, a private research institute said Friday. Outstanding government-funded student loans came to 10.7 trillion won (US$9.8 billion) as of the end of last year, 2.9 times higher than 3.7 trillion won in 2010, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – Twelve major Korean asset management firms increased foreign stock transactions via their overseas investment funds by 63.9 percent from 2013 to 2014. The number of said transactions reached 79,687 in 2014, according to an announcement from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) on January 30. The stock trades within their [...]