London-based Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters said South Korea has the potential to rise as Asia’s key financial hub in a meeting with the head of the financial regulator here, the lender’s Korean subsidiary said Thursday. “(Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo and Winters) agreed on the potential of Seoul as Asia’s financial hub given the size of the Korean economy and Korea’s presence in global trade,” Standard Chartered Bank Korea

Major South Korean lenders’ decision to invest some $100 million in a hotel and retail project at 20 Times Square in New York in 2018 has come back to bite them two years later, with the property’s foreclosure last year continuing to wreak havoc amid the coronavirus pandemic, sources said Thursday. In 2018, French Bank Natixis syndicated to local banks KB Kookmin, Hana and NH Nonghyup -- three of the five major lenders here -- and other Korean institutional investors. Some combined

The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation said Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Land and Housing Corporation to help South Korean companies secure more overseas construction projects. Under the deal, the state-run trade insurance firm will provide overseas business financing insurance and various trade insurance products to LH and partner companies bidding for overseas construction orders, which will help the builders minimize losses from offshore investments

After completing a two-week self-quarantine period in South Korea, London-based Standard Chartered Bank CEO Bill Winters has been traveling back and forth between South Korea’s capital Seoul and Pangyo, touted as the nation’s Silicon Valley, meeting with a number of high-profile figures in the domestic financial technology industry in recent days, according to sources Tuesday. Winters was initially granted a quarantine exemption upon his arrival in the country on Aug. 30, but decide

W12.7tr government bailout saved lender in 1998, but led to questions about bank’s identity as private institution

The National Pension Service, South Korea‘s public pension fund, has entered into a strategic cooperation with Singapore-based Keppel Capital to beef up private infrastructure investment in Asia. According to the investment arm of offshore rig builder and shipbuilder Keppel, the strategic cooperation is meant to foster capabilities to manage energy and environmental infrastructure assets, including renewables and related technology solutions, urban development and connectivity solutions.

Korean investment banking group Mirae Asset Group is being swamped by litigations at home and abroad, including one against China’s Dajia Insurance Group surrounding high-profile hotel deals in the United States, filings showed Monday. As of the end of June, the total litigation costs incurred to brokerage house Mirae Asset Daewoo and its affiliates could exceed 7 trillion won ($6 billion) if the group loses all 35 lawsuits in which it is involved. The cost has gone up from 68.8 billion

Major South Korean banks are on the path of tightening their extension of personal unsecured loans, apparently responding to the financial authorities continued efforts to curb “excessive lending.” Outstanding personal loans extended by five major lenders here -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, KEB Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup -- fell to 126.9 trillion won as of Thursday, down 243.6 billion won ($209.3 million) from the previous day, data showed Sunday. This marked a sharp turn from the extend

South Korean asset manager Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management said Friday that it would beef up efforts to take climate change into account in its asset management business, as part of its green finance and impact investing. Under its climate action declaration released Friday, the joint venture of Shinhan Financial Group and BNP Paribas Asset Management will consider the impact its investment decisions and financial products could have on climate change. It is the first such declaration in

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, who is likely to keep his role for another three-year term, pledged Thursday to boost the firm’s shares with a strong and versatile portfolio. “As you can see, KB’s shares have remained at a disastrous level for some time, which reflects concerns surrounding South Korea’s economy and finance coupled with doubts about traditional institutions’ competitiveness in the contactless era,” Yoon told reporters on his way to

S. Korean real estate investors say they seek distressed assets, publicly-traded assets for downside protection

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea touched a new all-time high in August as companies boosted dollar holdings, central bank data showed Thursday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents came to $88.5 billion as of end-August, up $1.14 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The August amount was the largest tally since the central bank began to compile related data in June 2012. Foreign currency deposits

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo should keep his seat for a third term, the banking group’s outside directors decided Wednesday, bolstered by his bold moves in expansion of nonbanking businesses and acquisition. The group’s chairman recommendation committee, made up of KB’s seven outside directors, chose Yoon as the sole and final candidate for the next chairman role. The incumbent chief would have to gain final approval at a shareholders meeting scheduled Nov. 20 t

South Korean investors are inching closer to taking over a student housing facility in the United States from US real estate developer Lincoln Ventures for roughly 140 billion won ($119.37 million), local brokerage arm Korea Investment & Securities said Wednesday. The 18-story building, Moontower, has four underground levels and houses 166 units with 567 beds. The high-end student residential facility will serve the University of Texas at Austin starting in the fall 2020 semester. Its 19,0

Singapore-based online marketplace platform Carousell said Wednesday it had raised a combined $80 million funding from an investor group led by South Korean internet giant Naver. Along with Naver, other Korean investors, including Mirae Asset-Naver Growth Fund and NH Investment & Securities, took part in the consortium. Credit Suisse advised the deal. The funding enabled Carousell to exceed a $900 million valuation, according to the startup. Since launching in 2012, Carousell has been