With South Korea’s financial authorities gearing up to launch the nation’s first 40-year mortgage this year, as of Monday there was talk of longer-term options ahead -- as well as concern about whether longer-term mortgages are appropriate for the local housing market. The policymaking Financial Services Commission said Sunday that the state-backed 40-year option would be introduced for younger people and newly married borrowers as early as July. The FSC is jointly planning the mor

Retail investors have snapped up almost all of a 137 billion-won ($121 million) fund aimed at promoting government-led projects under the Korean New Deal as of Sunday, as individuals seek to take advantage of the state policy fund to use as a financial cushion against losses. The 137 billion won was earmarked for retail investors out of a larger 200 million-won fund. The 137 billion won was parceled and sold via five major commercial banks on Thursday. The ones offered by the commercial lender

This article is part of analysis and interviews by The Korea Herald’s finance desk staff exploring South Korea’s budding ESG investment market, as well as its potential, impact and challenges. -- Ed. Of all the changes stemming from the banking sector’s embrace of environmental, social and governance values in recent years, according to 53-year-old Shin Hae-jin, the one that stands out most is the absence of paper in “paperwork.” “Since last year, I’ve

A Burmese employee at Shinhan Bank’s Yangon branch was shot amid an escalating bloodshed in Myanmar, the South Korean lender and a Burmese news outlet said Thursday. The female employee was shot while heading home in a company vehicle, at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, after work. According to reports, she was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The employee’s current condition is unknown. Shinhan has been operating a branch in Yangon with a minimum number of employees stationed at

Electronic payments in South Korea increased 32.7 percent on-year in 2020, hitting a record high of 705.5 billion won ($624 million), in terms of daily average transactions, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Monday. “The social distancing measures implemented due to the spread of the COVID-19 has led to a continued expansion of contactless online transactions,” the Bank of Korea said in a statement. The reading marked the highest amount since the BOK started col

South Korea’s major banking groups expressed a willingness to review various ways to increase their dividend payouts -- including interim dividends – amid government restrictions that have placed a cap on earnings distribution, in shareholders meetings held through Friday. In an apparent bid to quell shareholders’ growing complaints over the firms’ decision to heed the Financial Supervisory Service’s earlier “recommendation” to keep their dividend payo

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea CEO Bang Moon-kyu was named the richest public official in a financial institution, with net worth amounting to some 5.9 billion won ($5.2 million) as of end-2020, data by the public service ethics committee here showed Thursday. The data disclosed by the committee under the Ministry of Personnel Management also took assets owned by the officials’ family members into account. The value of Bang’s net assets, including real estate, gained 8

South Korea’s central bank chief said Wednesday that the nation’s economy could be expected to see a faster recovery from COVID-19 woes than anticipated in the bank’s previous forecast of 3 percent, while downplaying inflation risks that could stem from the rebound. In a nod toward the vaccination campaigns of major economies, which are picking up speed, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol projected that Korea would see a faster-than-expected recovery of its exports and facility in

Nodding toward the latest global market jitters caused by a sudden spike in US bond yields, South Korea’s vice finance minister vowed Tuesday to “flexibly intervene” if market volatility increases. “Recently a dampened investor sentiment and increased volatility have been observed in the Treasury bond market,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said in a macroeconomics meeting. “We will make our best effort to stabilize the market, including making an adju

More than half of South Koreans believe that the nation’s labor market will further deteriorate this year, compared with the conditions before the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey conducted by a think tank here showed Monday. Some 77 percent of Koreans said in the survey commissioned by the Korea Economic Research Institute that the nation’s job market is likely to worsen compared with conditions in 2019. Of the 77 percent, 44.6 percent believe that the market will “extremely deter

South Korean bankers under four major lenders here saw an average median pay increase of over 8 percent in the past three years, making nearly 100 million won ($88,500) on average last year despite a shrinking workforce due to digitalization, data showed Sunday. The average annual income gained 8.6 percent from end-2017 to 98 million won as of end-2020, data provided by the four major banks – KB Kookmin, Hana, Woori and Shinhan – showed. Of the banks, employees under KB Kookmin re

This is a part of series of interviews and analysis of South Korea’s top bankers, policymakers and investors leading the financial industry here. This is the second installment. -- Ed. Despite COVID-19 woes that swept across South Korea’s financial sector, 2020 seemed like a milestone year for Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai. The 69-year-old was named as one of the highest earning banking group leaders here -- earning an annual salary of 2.6 billion won ($2.2 million)

South Korean banks’ average capital adequacy ratio inched up last year from the previous year, indicating improved financial health amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the financial watchdog showed Wednesday. The average ratio of 19 commercial and state-run lenders gained 1.08 percentage points to 15 percent on-year as of end-2020, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The capital adequacy ratio, based on the Switzerland-based Bank of International Settlements’ guidel

South Korea’s Woori Bank on Monday has decided to heed to the financial watchdog’s recommendation to compensate to end-investors who dealt with heavy losses due to the lender’s selling of funds tied to 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion) misselling scandal involving now-defunct hedge fund Lime Asset Management. The nation’s fourth-largest commercial lender by total assets will provide 78 percent of total investments made by an 82-year old man -- whose investment had been fr

South Korea’s plans to develop its digital intellectual property system this year will be the driving force behind the post-coronavirus pandemic recovery, the nation’s IP office said. In its 2021 policy plan announced Thursday, the Korean Intellectual Property Office revealed 10 tasks under four key strategies that would give impetus to South Korea’s road to a digital economy and recovery. The four strategies are: development of a new digital intellectual property system, exp

South Korean banks’ total outstanding mortgages extended to households gained 6.4 trillion won ($5.6 billion) on-month in February, central bank data showed Wednesday, with the figure marking the second-largest increase for the month. Outstanding mortgages stood at 733.3 trillion won as of end-February, according to the Bank of Korea. The 6.4 trillion-won gain was the second-largest increase in the month of February the BOK has seen since it started compiling such data in 2004. Of the

The recent surge in the US Treasury yields, if prolonged, could lead to a decline in asset prices, South Korea’s Vice Finance Minister said Tuesday, saying that the government would keep an eye on market volatilities. “If the US bond yields continue to rise, volatilities including change in asset prices over avoidance of risky investments and an outflow of emerging market capitals could materialize,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said during a macroeconomics meeting. &

As part of the financial authorities’ latest move to bolster monitoring of conglomerates, major firms with financial arms will be legally required to receive board approval for intracompany transactions over 5 billion won ($4.4 million), from June 30, the Financial Services Commission said Monday. South Korean firms, not classified as banking groups, with over 5 trillion won in financial assets and more than two financial units -- mostly insurers and brokerages -- are subjected to the &l

South Korea’s Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Sunday apologized for the snowballing land speculation scandal involving employees of the state-run housing company and vowed a zero-tolerance policy, including confiscation of any illegally obtained properties. Hong’s statement follows the government’s decision Thursday to probe the allegations concerning more than 10 former and current employees at the Korea Land & Housing Corp. who likely used prior information acquired to

South Korea’s per capita gross national income dropped for the second consecutive year in 2020, central bank data showed Thursday, deflating anticipations of further growth after the figure surpassed the $30,000-mark for the first time in 2018. The nation’s GNI per capita as of end-December last year shed 1.1 percent on-year to $31,755, in terms of dollars, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the first time the figure dropped for two years in a row sin