About 19 million credit card users saw their card benefits reduced because of policy changes by card firms, according to a report from the Financial Supervisory Service.The report, which was submitted to ruling party lawmaker Park Dae-dong, said the actual number of card users who underwent benefit cuts may be smaller, considering that one customer possesses four cards on average.Big name card companies involved in the benefit schemes include Shinhan Card, KB Kookmin Card, Samsung Card, Hana SK

KT&G Corp. said on Monday that it would put its new tobacco product “This Africa,” the latest in its “This” lineup, on sale, starting Wednesday. The country’s largest tobacco maker said, “This Africa” contains tobacco leaves that are roasted and dried in traditional African style. “This” has been one of KT&G’s steady-selling lineups.While most cigarettes with tobacco leaves use direct heat for dehydration, “This Africa” uses smoke-dried leaves that gives a unique scent with a slight tint of swee

Korea’s total credit card spending overseas hit a record high in the second quarter of this year despite the nation’s economic slowdown, the central bank said Friday.The Bank of Korea reported that about 51 percent of total payments made between April and June were put on plastic including debit cards. Koreans spent about $2.5 billion with cards during that period. The amount increased about 1.6 percent from the first quarter. The high rate of credit card spending resulted from a change in Korea

The nation’s financial regulator on Thursday reprimanded Korean operations of three foreign banks for engaging in a cartel practice over prices of a currency swap.The Financial Supervisory Service said the Seoul branches of French-based BNP Paribas S.A., Singapore-based DBS Bank Ltd., and Australia/New Zealand-based Australia New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. colluded.To lower rates for a Korean company’s $10 million currency swap of foreign currency bonds.All three ended up with 4.18 percent swap

KB Financial Group said on Wednesday that it would retrieve the No. 1 banker title by strengthening the retail banking business.Group chairman Lim Young-rok told some 25,000 employees to “go back to the basics,” referring to retail banking, the group’s “cradle and all-time best sector.”“The impact of the recession will take on us like a typhoon. Big (banks) are doomed to fall if they are not equipped with the power to stand on their own,” he claimed, stressing that the group should “return to re

The Financial Supervisory Service unearthed a total of 150 cases of illegal foreign exchange transactions in the first half of this year, officials said Tuesday. The number is an increase of 26 percent from the same period last year, when 119 cases were detected, the FSS said in a statement. These crimes were mostly caused by failing to report certain foreign currency-related financial transactions to the banks, as designated in the regulatory act, according to FSS officials.About 65 percent of

KB Kookmin Card Co. has launched a two-track Chuseok holiday promotion with lucky-draws and cash-back points, the company said on Tuesday. The card company will randomly select 918 of its credit card users and grant them a variety of free gifts, such as gas coupons, department store gift cards, travel gift cards or extra points. The card users can try their luck at either the online event zone at www.kbcard.com, or on the card firm’s mobile app. Eligible applicants must have a card payment histo

The global asset market has lost steam amid the prolonged global economic slowdown, and the Korean market situation is not faring much better.But this does not mean investors should wait until the mist clears, according to a top strategist at the U.S.-based LaSalle Investment Management. “Now is not time to buy core ― it is very expensive,” said Paul Guest, Asia-Pacific head of research and strategy of the company, in an email interview with The Korea Herald. “But there are plenty of near-core a

The quarterly net profits of local brokerages declined sharply in the first fiscal quarter this year, the nation’s financial regulator said on Sunday. The Financial Supervisory Service said that the 62 securities companies operating here posted a combined quarterly net profit of about 120 billion won ($108 million) in the January-March period, down 73.3 percent from the 446 billion won in the previous quarter. Twenty-one of the 62 securities companies operating here ― 13 local firms and eight fo

Shinhan Bank, the banking unit of Shinhan Financial Group, adopted an independently developed credit rating model to assess loan applications of low-credit customers, the bank said Sunday. The “Hope Credit Assessment Model” is the country’s first attempt to invent and apply a separate barometer to rate the credit of low-income customers, the bank stated.The Hope Credit Assessment Model is expected to benefit many low incomers who had been marginalized in the general credit assessment system, und

Shinhan Financial Group launched the ninth fellowship for youth with disabilities, who will be dispatched to six continents to gain a global experience and vision, at a ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.Dubbed “Global Challenges of Youth with Disabilities,” the annual program kicked off with a launching ceremony at the Press Center in central Seoul.Besides young participants, officials of Shinhan Financial Group and the Korean Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities attended the cer

Commercial banks and brokerage firms are extending operation hours in branches frequented by nine-to-fivers to get ahead in the race for market share.The business hours of banks here have been almost identical, opening at 9 a.m. and closing at 4 p.m., with the exception of Standard Chartered Bank Korea Ltd. and some branches of NongHyup Bank. Some branches in industrial complex areas, such as Gasan-dong and Wongok-dong in Seoul, had been extending business hours to provide more wiring and foreig

Hana Financial Group unveiled a mutual profit boosting plan for its small and medium-sized corporate partners. The group hosted a mutual prosperity strategy meeting on Tuesday to introduce the plan for its smaller corporate clients in the information technology business.“Some domestic small and medium enterprises with expertise are facing difficulties from blind preference for foreign hardware and software,” said Kim Jung-tai, the group chairman and chief executive, at the meeting. “It is very c

One conglomerate-based and two bank-based financial firms were found to have issued credit cards to dead customers, according to the state regulator on Monday.The Financial Supervisory Service detected 33 cases of identity theft in credit card renewals, where families of deceased credit card users kept and renewed the contract. The FSS has requested the Korea Federation of Banks to biannually submit fiscal transaction information of the deceased since 2011. But credit card sign-up assistants are

The country’s largest brewer Oriental Brewery Co. strengthened marketing for global premium brand “Stella Artois.”OB, which is the supplier for the European beer, will now distribute 330 milliliter and 500 milliliter cans to supermarkets and convenience stores. Stella Artois has a 600-year history, and is currently the fourth best-selling premium beer worldwide. It has been assessed as having the world’s fourth strongest brand power, the supplier said.Before the cans were introduced, bottles of

The Financial Supervisory Service, the country’s financial regulator, said Sunday that it would co-host a job fair with 17 Korean financial companies in Sept. 28-29 in New York.Dubbed “2013 Fn Hub Korea Finance Job Fair in New York,” the event will offer job consultations and interview potential employees with degrees or experience in finance graduated from U.S. and Canadian universities. Employers plan to recruit those with knowledge and expertise in investment banking, risk management, financi

Consumers in Korea pay more for camping equipment than those in the U.S., Japan and Australia despite low satisfaction over quality, research showed on Thursday. A “Smart Consumer Report” by YWCA Seoul showed that camping equipment made by the same outdoor brands was more costly in Korea than in other countries. But 558 campers in Seoul and surrounding areas who participated in the survey said equipment quality did not match the high prices.The Korean camping market has been on a steady rise, ha

Credit card holders will be banned from paying back cash advances in installments from next February.Major companies including Hyundai Card, KB Kookmin Card, Samsung Card have already halted the practice.Other players that have not yet done so will end installment-based debt payments before March 2014, according to sources in the industry.The move comes after financial authorities urged credit card firms to stop offering the services to help control the country’s snowballing household debt, espe

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., one of the nation’s major financial firms, is pushing for an aggressive merger and acquisition of U.S.-based assets, even as other brokerages express doubts, citing market maturity. The Korean firm is considering forming a consortium with U.S. private equity fund investors to purchase the L.A.-based coffeehouse chain Coffee Bean & Tealeaf. But the deal could be scuppered at any moment, Mirae Asset officials said, refraining from disclosing details related to t

Woori Financial Group on Friday posted another earning shock in its second quarterly report this year, marked by disastrous contraction in net profit.Woori Financial earned 148 billion won ($130 million) in net profit in the second quarter, down about 30 percent from last year. Its second-quarter earnings fell 51.4 percent to 358.3 billion won. The damage comes more lucid when combined with the state-controlled financial group’s first quarterly report. In the first half, the company’s net profit