South Korean brokerage houses saw their employees decrease by more than 7,000 in the past four and a half years as the industry has undergone a wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&As), market data showed Wednesday, Yonhap News reported.
The combined workforce of securities firms reached 36,078 as of end-June this year, down from 43,364 tallied at the end of 2010, according to data compiled by the Korea Capital Market Institute, according to the report.
The number of brokerage firms operating in the country fell to 56 as of September from 64 in 2010, with local branches falling to 1,156 from 1,818 over the four-and-a-half-year period, the report said.
Insiders said M&As have been blooming in the local brokerage and asset management sector due to fiercer competition and weakening profitability, while the government lowered legal barriers to encourage M&As in the market, Yonhap reported.
Last year, Taiwanese Yuanta Group took over Tongyang Securities Co., while Nonghyup Financial Group Inc. acquired Woori Investment & Securities Co., the No. 1 brokerage house by asset. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)
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