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2 weeks ago | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Kim Jung-hwan |Han Yubin
South Korean financial regulators will finalize guidelines encouraging commercial banks to support orders for mid-sized shipbuilders in a review committee in early May 2025, financial industry sources said on Monday. The guidelines, jointly prepared by the country’s five major commercial banks- KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, Woori Bank, and NH Nonghyup Bank - stipulate that banks would not be held liable for losses if financial support is provided under specific conditions.
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1 month ago | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Park Chang-yeong |Kim Jung-hwan |Han Yubin
South Korea’s four major commercial banks saw their corporate credit risk double in 2024 from a year ago as the pace of economic recession accelerates. According to data from the Korea Federation of Banks on Wednesday, the counterparty credit risk (CCR) of KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori, rose to 26.08 trillion won ($19.8 billion) in 2024, up from 12.28 trillion won in 2023.
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Dec 3, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Kim Jung-hwan |Lee Hee-jo |Yoon Yeon-hae
South Korea’s NH Nonghyup Bank is weighing its participation in the competition for a license for the country’s fourth internet-only bank through investment in the Douzone Bank consortium. According to sources from the financial sector on Monday, NH Nonghyup Bank is considering investing a stake of around 9 percent in Douzone Bank, which has declared its bid for the 4th internet bank license.
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Nov 27, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Kim Jung-hwan |Han Yubin
KB Financial Group appointed its head of KB Life Insurance Co. to lead its bank subsidiary, and the nomination effectively ends expectation among industry observers that KB Kookmin Bank CEO Lee Jae-geun had a strong chance for a third term. KB Life Insurance CEO Lee Hwan-ju was appointed as the new CEO of KB Kookmin Bank as he was recognized for his ability to drive substantial growth and enhance corporate value through structural improvements focused on capital and cost efficiency.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Kim Jung-hwan |Yoon Yeon-hae
South Korean financial authorities are considering a plan to restrict sales of high-risk products to specific bank branches, such as regional hubs, as part of measures to address the mis-selling crisis surrounding equity-linked securities (ELS) tied to Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index.
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Oct 28, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Kim Jung-hwan |Han Yubin
KB Bank, a financially strapped Indonesian affiliate of KB Kookmin Bank, has issued a $300 million global bond that drew $1.35 billion worth of investments. In a statement published on Monday, KB Kookmin Bank said KB Bank successfully issued $300 million in dollar-denominated bonds in the first bond issuance by the affiliate, formerly known as Bank Bukopin.
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Aug 28, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Kim Jung-hwan |Woo Je-yoon |Yoon Yeon-hae
By Kim Jung-hwan, Woo Je-yoon, and Yoon Yeon-haeThe South Korean government on Tuesday proposed a tight budget plan for next year, aiming to restrain spending amid rising national debt and concerns about tax revenue shortfalls. On Tuesday, the government held a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Yoon Suk Yeol and decided to increase next year’s spending by 3.2 percent from this year.
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Aug 15, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Kim Jung-hwan |Yoon Yeon-hae
South Korea suffered its largest tourism deficit in six years during the first half of 2024, as outbound Korean travelers spent far more than inbound foreign visitors, data showed on Thursday. According to the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the country’s travel balance posted a deficit of $6.48 billion in the first half of 2024, the largest since 2018’s $7.83 billion deficit.
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Aug 13, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Kim Jung-hwan |Chang Iou-chung
A global credit rating agency is expressing its doubts about South Korea fiscal health. In a written interview with the Maeil Business Newspaper on Tuesday, Jeremy Zook, director of Asia sovereign ratings at Fitch Ratings, said that fiscal strength is no longer considered a positive factor in assessing Korea’s sovereign credit rating, but is now viewed as a neutral element, citing the nation’s widening budget deficit since the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Jul 29, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Kim Jung-hwan |Yoon Yeon-hae
South Korea’s tourism industry continues to struggle due to rip-off prices and a lack of systematic policies. This comes despite calls to boost domestic travel consumption, which is one of the pillars for domestic demand. According to an analysis by Maeil Business Newspaper of the Bank of Korea’s balance of payments data on Monday, the country’s travel account deficit for the first quarter of 2024 totaled $3.89 billion, the largest in 22 quarters since the third quarter of 2018.
