JB Financial Group said Thursday its net profit hit a record high last year on higher net interest income and operational efficiency. The financial group logged 601 billion won ($477.5 million) in net profit in 2022, up 18.6 percent from a year ago, according to its earnings report. The amount marks the largest since the financial holding company was launched in 2013. “The group will seek to continue its stable growth this year by focusing on profitability-oriented and substantial manage

South Korea will continue to revamp its market policies to attract more foreign investors to join the World Government Bond Index this year, the finance ministry said Thursday. The remark came after Second Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-dae held a meeting with David Sol, the global head of London-based FTSE Russell, which operates the index Wednesday. The WGBI is a broad index designed to measure the performance of government bond markets, including local currencies and sovereign bonds of major

Citibank Korea announced Friday that it signed a syndicated loan agreement with Posco Argentina to support the development of a salt lake with lithium reserves for Posco Holdings. As a joint mandated lead arranger, Citibank arranged a $412 million (505.4 billion won) syndicated loan for Posco Argentina with support from Korea Trade Insurance Corp. The agreement was reached on Jan. 25. “This deal is meaningful as it provides financing support for enhancing Korean companies’ competitiv

South Korea's tax revenue rose 51.9 trillion won ($42 billion) in 2022 from a year earlier on the back of an increased collection of corporate income taxes, coupled with revitalized consumption, the finance ministry said Monday. The government collected 395.9 trillion won in taxes last year, up 15.1 percent from the 344.1 trillion won tallied in 2021, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. In 2020, the tax revenue fell by 7.9 trillion won due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandem

Mirae Asset Global Investments has gobbled up nearly half of target-date fund market share, recording 3.5 trillion won ($2.84 billion) under management as of the end of 2022. TDF refers to an investment scheme where a portfolio’s asset allocation mix automatically rebalances throughout an account holder’s lifecycle to make it less prone to volatility as the target date draws near. Analysts attributed Mirae Asset's top position to the group's chairman, Park Hyun-joo, who has

Marking 20th year of global business, investment firm outpaces crosstown rivals in overseas profits

Tough conditions mean high interest rates advertised for savings accounts are often a mirage

Activist fund declares proxy fight against 7 local lenders, calls for them to raise dividend ratio to some 50%

South Korea's foreign reserves continued to expand for the second straight month in December as the weakening dollar resulted in a rise in the converted value of holdings denominated in other currencies, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves came to $423.16 billion as of end-December, up $7.06 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea. The increase came as the dollar-converted value of other currency-based assets i

The new CEO of Shinhan Bank, one of South Korea's top four lenders by net profit, vowed to put customer-centric service and digital innovation first during his tenure. “Shinhan will manage its soundness through precise data analysis and protect customer value through timely support measures,” said Han Yong-gu, former deputy president in charge of sales management at the lender, who was inaugurated as CEO on Friday. Offering supportive measures for vulnerable debtors such as ow

KB's exclusive banking branch lures superwealthy parents who want a smooth transition of assets to their children

NongHyup Financial Group announced their affiliate CEO candidates, including NongHyup Bank, Thursday. The candidates were selected through a recommendation committee meeting held earlier in the day. The group has tapped Lee Seok-yong, a senior official in charge of planning and coordination at the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, as NongHyup Bank CEO. NongHyup Bank is an affiliate of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation. Lee joined the company in 1991 and has since been

Hana Bank on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with Toss Securities, the brokerage arm of fintech company Viva Republica, to jointly provide around-the-clock service for foreign exchange trading. “Through continuous cooperation with various financial companies like Toss Securities, we will create a new trend in the foreign exchange market,” Hana Bank official Namgoong One said in a statement. According to Hana Bank on Friday, the bank will mainly provide exchange rate i

Lee Seung-lyul from now-defunct Korea Exchange Bank appointed as Hana Bank CEO candidate

Companies with higher involvement of foreigners and small investors are more likely to release more detailed corporate governance reports, demonstrating more transparency, the Korea Exchange said Tuesday. The Korea Exchange, the nation's sole bourse operator, released an analysis on the corporate governance reports of companies listed on the local stock market. As companies with assets between 1 trillion and 2 trillion won ($767 million to $1.53 billion) were required to release corporate