SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The government plans to activate the customer’s right to request an interest rate cut from credit card and credit finance firms. The right to request an interest rate cut represents the borrower’s right to demand that financial companies lower interest rates when their wealth or credit conditions improve. The Financial [...]
SEOUL, July 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Major banks in South Korea saw their time deposits decline from a month earlier in June, while their money market deposits jumped sharply, apparently suggesting more people were hoping to invest their money amid record low interest rates but were unable to do so amid a coronavirus-caused slump, data [...]
SEOUL, June 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean financial authorities on Sunday said that illegal money lenders cannot impose annual interest rates of more than 6 percent, in a move to protect consumers in the pandemic-hit economy. The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country’s financial regulator, drafted a new set of regulations that lowers the [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government has announced measures aimed at strengthening the transparency of banks, as they are being advised to provide loan applicants with a detailed breakdown of the interest they will be charged. In the case of banks having charged unjustifiable high interest rates, the surplus in interest [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — High household debt and a possible capital flight following expected U.S. rate hikes pose major risks to South Korea this year, a local think tank said Monday. In a seminar held by the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) in Seoul, KERI Vice President Song Won-geun said faced with downside [...]
SEOUL, May 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s interest rate freeze is seen as reflecting its improving economic fundamentals and the central bank’s stance to size up the effect of the new government’s economic policy on growth. As widely expected, the Bank of Korea (BOK) held the country’s benchmark interest rate at a record low [...]
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 [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – The growth of mortgage loans in South Korea markedly slowed last month amid indications of interest rate hikes and a downturn in the real estate market, data showed Wednesday. Outstanding home-backed loans extended by six major banks here – KB Koomin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana, NH and the Industrial [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will take firm and resolute action to stabilize the local financial markets to prevent any fallout from the latest U.S. rate hike, the government said Thursday. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – The Bank of Korea base rate dropped in June to a record low 1.25 percent. Commercial institutions followed suit, adjusting their interest rates. And as of September, no banks offered time deposit accounts with 2 percent or higher interest rates. Saving in Korea is no longer a lucrative business. [...]