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2 months ago | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Lee Hee-jo |Han Yubin
South Korean major commercial lenders are estimated to have earned a record 16 trillion won ($10.9 billion) in net profit last year. The four are KB Financial Group Inc., Shinhan Financial Group Co., Woori Financial Group, and Hana Financial Group Inc. Financial data provider FnGuide Inc. found that the four financial giants are expected to report a total net profit of 16.8 trillion won for 2024. This was up 11 percent from 2023 and would set a new record high.
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2 months ago | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Lee Hee-jo |Han Yubin
Commercial banks in South Korea are tightening loan requirements for construction developers amid concerns about a prolonged industry downturn. According to multiple sources from the financial industry on Thursday, Woori Bank has decided to impose stricter lending criteria for construction companies borrowing 1 billion won ($691,802) or more starting Friday. Only companies with a strong credit rating will qualify for loans; otherwise, they will only be eligible for collateralized loans.
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Jan 12, 2025 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Lee Hee-jo |Chang Iou-chung
South Korean financial institutions including banks and insurers are bolstering risk management as the local currency continues to remain weak against the U.S. dollar. According to industry sources on Sunday, Shinhan Bank has begun early credit evaluations for corporate clients with loans maturing in the first half of this year.
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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 20, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Lee Hee-jo |Yoon Yeon-hae
Hanwha Life Insurance Co. became the first South Korean insurance company to acquire a U.S. securities firm. This acquisition is seen as a significant step for Hanwha Life in its journey to becoming a global comprehensive financial group. Hanwha Life said on Wednesday that it signed a stock purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire a 75 percent stake in Velocity Clearing LLC, a U.S.-based securities firm.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Lee Hee-jo |Chang Iou-chung
Kyobo Life Insurance Co. has launched a new insurance product tailored for readers, riding on the growing interest in books following author Han Kang‘s Nobel Prize win. The company introduced the Kyobo e-Reading Safety Insurance (non-participating), which provides coverage for health problems related to reading, including eye, muscle and joint disorders, visual display terminal (VDT) syndrome and spinal disorders.
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Nov 17, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Lee Hee-jo |Chang Iou-chung
The loan delinquency rate among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Korea has climbed to nearly 1 percent, the highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis, thanks to interest rates that remain high and an economy that continues to slow down. According to Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) on Sunday, the SME loan delinquency rate, including loans to self-employed individuals, rose to 0.97 percent as of late October 2024.
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Oct 22, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Lee Hee-jo |Yoon Yeon-hae
South Korea’s pet insurance market is growing rapidly as the number of people raising pets increases. According to sources from the non-life insurance industry on Tuesday, the number of pet insurance policies held by the country’s 10 major non-life insurers was 144,884 as of the end of September 2024. The number of pet insurance policies was only 7,005 in 2018, but surged to 24,199 in 2019, 35,415 in 2020, 51,727 in 2021, and 71,896 in 2022.
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Oct 22, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Lee Hee-jo |Han Yubin
South Korea’s Hana Financial Group launched a brand dedicated to senior financial consumers, becoming the industry’s first to introduce a brand tailored for the elderly. The brand, Hana The Next, offers a wide range of services, both financial and non-financial, including retirement planning and inheritance, as well as healthcare solutions.
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Sep 10, 2024 | 
pulse.mk.co.kr | Lee Hee-jo |Chang Iou-chung
The South Korean government is pushing forward with amendments to the inheritance tax law to introduce a recipient-based inheritance tax in the first half of 2025. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok said at a press briefing on Monday that the government plans to submit the bill on the recipient-based inheritance tax to the National Assembly as early as the first half of 2025.
