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 12 (Korea Bizwire) – The won’s movement against the dollar widened slightly in March from a month earlier, central bank data showed Wednesday. The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rate averaged 0.47 percent last month, compared to 0.39 in February, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said. “The won rose against the dollar [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The amount of payments made electronically hit a record high in 2016, central bank data showed Wednesday, underscoring the growing trend of South Koreans using electronic means for financial transactions. The daily average amount of electronic financial transactions came to 343.5 billion won (US$306 million) in 2016, up 36.1 [...]
SEOUL, March 22 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s terms of trade deteriorated slightly in February from a year earlier as a rise in export prices was offset by a hike in import prices, central bank data showed Wednesday. The terms of trade index for products came to 100.48 last month, down 2.9 percent from a [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea logged a net outflow of gold not held as foreign reserve assets for the first time in four years in 2016, central bank data showed Monday. The balance of trade in non-monetary gold was valued at a surplus of US$265 million last year, according to data by [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – The Bank of Korea Money Museum, located in Myeongdong, central Seoul, opened in 2001 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of South Korea’s central bank (the bank opened in June 1950). In addition to its display of some 4,500 banknotes from around the world, the facility delves into the history [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – The Bank of Korea announced Thursday a pilot project to allow convenience store customers to charge their prepaid public transportation cards using spare change, the first step forward to a “coinless society.” According to representatives, the BOK will begin a selection process of convenience store franchises that will take [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The ratio of South Korean savings banks’ loans extended to households hit a record amid shrinking corporate investment, data showed Sunday. Their outstanding loans totaled 41.1 trillion won (US$34.9 billion) as of end-September, up 15.77 percent from the end of last year, according to the Bank of Korea’s economic [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – Recent data from the Bank of Korea shows that Korea’s shadow banking system has grown exponentially over the years, increasing potential risks and vulnerability in the Korean market. Shadow banking refers to non-bank financial institutions that provide traditional banking services but outside conventional financial regulations. According to data revealed [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the second quarter from three months earlier on increased local demand and exports, central bank data showed Friday. In the April-June period, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 0.8 percent from the previous quarter, accelerating from a 0.5 percent [...]