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. [...]
SEOUL, June 20 (Korea Bizwire) – Deposit interest rates have fallen so low that consumers can’t even pay a single ATM fee with their annual interest income, and their distress is compounded by the latest policies from the big banks to increase wire transfer and ATM fees. The annual nominal interest rate for a savings [...]
SEOUL, June 10 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean investors are piling into high-yield corporate bonds with relatively high risk in search of bigger returns as the country’s interest rates are at rock bottom, sources said Friday. Trading of these so-called mezzanine bonds have recently been active as investors are drawn to debt that offers a higher [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – An interest rate hike of just 0.25 percentage points will likely cause the household debt service burden to rise by 1.9 trillion won (US$1.6 billion) per year, hurting consumer spending and affecting overall growth, the central bank said Thursday. In a report submitted to Rep. Park Won-suk of the [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Under the current market conditions, attention is concentrated on profitable real estate. Due to continued low interest rates, the auction price ratio of business and commercial properties at court auctions exceeded 70 percent for the first time in nine years. The number of bids also reached an all time [...]