Korea will toughen rules on household lending by non-bank financial companies in an effort to put the brakes on its rapid growth, the financial regulator said Sunday. Non-bank financial firms, including cooperatives and insurers, will be required to lower their loan-to-deposit ratios to less than 80 percent in two years and to increase credit loss provisions for high-risk loans, the Financial Se...

ICON Media Communications, an investor relations firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles, announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Seoul IR Consulting. The tie is aimed at promoting strategic communications counsel between the U.S. and Korean financial markets while enhancing the brand of the two firms in the investment community. “This partnership marks a milestone for I...

The labor dispute in Standard Chartered Bank Korea has entered a critical phase again as its management recently failed to reach a compromise with the union. The union of Standard Chartered has threatened to stage a general strike amid the standstill in their negotiations with the management. Though the unionized workers, who went on a walkout between June and August, returned to work, the disp...

Chairman could oversee Hana’s emergence as Korea’s No. 1 financial group Hana Financial Group plans to select the successor to incumbent chairman Kim Seung-yu, whose term expires in late March, in the coming days. The new chairman will be the second figure to head Hana Financial since Kim took on the top post in 2005. Further, Kim’s successor will take on the role of integrating different corp...

A judge ruled tentatively that Toyota Motor Corp. can’t force named plaintiffs in a purported class-action lawsuit over alleged losses from unintended sudden acceleration to arbitrate their claims rather than proceed to trial. U.S. District Judge James Selna in Santa Ana, California, said in a tentative ruling on Friday that Toyota waived its right to compel arbitration for 15 of the 20 plaintif...

Porsche was recalling 100,000 of its Cayenne models worldwide to fix a headlight locking system that was at risk of becoming detached, the German car manufacturer said Friday. It will be biggest recall in the history of the company. Owners of the luxury sport utility vehicle, Porsche’s most popularmodel, were to receive letters asking them to take their cars to workshops for a free, 45-minute r...