When a small provincial branch of NongHyup Bank offered an online-exclusive installment savings plan with an annual interest of 8.2 percent in November last year, the news spread like wildfire among savvy savers. It sold like lottery tickets. Within hours, the bank sold 900 billion won ($707.8 million) of saving products, which was more than five times the size of the branch's total assets of 167 billion won. The problem was that the rural bank just wanted to attract just 10 billion won of fu

Bank stocks in South Korea have long been regarded as an unappealing option for investors. Against this backdrop, a local activist fund was launched Monday targeting seven large Korean lenders to whet investor appetite by shoring up dividends. Korean banks have strong fundamentals and enough capital to cushion against unexpected losses, but their dividend payout ratios remain much lower than those of their global peers, according to Lee Chang-hwan, CEO of Seoul-based private equity firm Align Pa

Seoul stocks closed higher for the second straight session on Thursday, driven by advances in chips and financial stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 8.67 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 2,264.65 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 416.6 million shares worth some 7.4 trillion won ($5.8 billion). Winners outnumbered losers 501 to 374. "The Kospi rose in the morning trading, boosted by advances in chips and fina

SINGAPORE, Dec. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On Dec. 21, 2022, the Financial Services Commission of Korea ("FSC", financial regulator in Republic of Korea) designated a blockchain-based fragmentized investment platform to be operated by APANDA Partners (hereinafter "APND) as an innovative financial services (so called, "Sandbox Approval"). In general, FSC has taken very conservative and prudent position in issuing Sandbox Approvals to blockchain-tech companies (in particular

A total of 24 Korean companies have been added to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) this year, the Korea Productivity Center said Sunday. The selected domestic companies include SK Telecom, LG Electronics, Kia, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, S-Oil, Shinhan Financial Group, KB Financial Group and Samsung SDI, according to the public institution. The DJSI World is part of a larger family of Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) launched in 1999 as the first global sustai

Shinhan Bank President Jin Ok-dong, 61, has been appointed as the final candidate for the new chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea's No. 2 bank by total assets, Thursday. The group said that nonexecutive directors of the group unanimously voted for Jin at a candidate recommendation meeting held at the firm's headquarters in central Seoul. Other candidates were Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung and Shinhan Card CEO Lim Young-jin. Though it was rumored that cur

By Yoo Chang-jo Professor of marketing at Dongguk University The Korea Herald presents the Global Finance Awards upon recognition that, for the Korean economy to grow in this age of cutting-edge technology, it is essential to build a financial ecosystem that meets global standards and raises the competitiveness of the country’s financial industry. The purpose of these awards is to encourage financial institutions that continue to challenge themselves and innovate to provide better financ

Shinhan Financial Group has been actively expanding its global outreach with its overseas operating network that spans over 20 countries. Its overseas business expansion has been carried out under three major principles -- "strengthening overseas capital market in developed markets, promoting gradual economies of scale in nonbanking sectors of developing countries and promoting digital growth of panbanking sectors of developing countries," according to the banking group. Shinhan first

Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom -- one of the five biggest lenders and the largest mobile carrier by subscribers in South Korea, respectively -- are ramping up a joint initiative to expand their presence in fintech, an industry built on making the best of financial and tech companies amid a rush to a digitalized economy. The partnership is the latest highlight of a race to outgrow the traditional financial systems by the five banking giants: KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NongHyup. The

South Korea’s top financial watchdog said Monday that the local banking giants should seek more transparency in how they elect their chief executives, a week after the Financial Supervisory Service’s disciplinary move against one of the chiefs over “junk funds.” The chief of Woori Financial Group -- one of the five biggest banking groups -- is now banned from holding a job in finance for up to five years as part of punishment for having sold funds the regulator says shoul

Chiefs of South Korea’s top banks are fast approaching the end of their current terms amid concerns of a looming debt crisis in the financial sector, sources said Wednesday. Starting with NH Financial Group Chairman Son Byung-hwan’s term ending next month, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung and Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung are inching towards the end of their current terms in March next year. CEOs of some banking giants’ flagship commercial lende

Loans taken out by South Korean companies this month from major local banks increased by 8.8 trillion won ($6.18 billion), the biggest monthly rise in 13 months, sparking concerns over fresh liquidity strains amid global headwinds sapping business confidence. Data from the five lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NongHyup -- showed conglomerates or large companies holding at least 10 trillion won in assets accounted for 66 percent of the 8.8 trillion won surge in borrowing as of Thur

Some 10,000 unionized financial workers held their first strike in six years on Friday, but the rally may have backfired on them, as their absence at work had minimal impact on customer services, sources said Sunday. The Korean Financial Industry Union affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, one of the country’s two umbrella unions, carried out a one-day general strike and demonstration at Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, calling for a 5.2 percent wage hike and the adopti

Unionized financial workers staged a one-day nationwide strike Friday calling for a wage hike and a 4.5-day workweek. The strike, called by the Korean Financial Industry Union, caused minimal disruption to operations of five major commercial banks, including KB Kookmin and Shinhan, with about 1 percent of union members participating, according to the companies. In three major state-run banks, including Korea Development Bank, which are scheduled or rumored to relocate to provincial cities, 50

South Korean banking groups have been picking up the pace of expansion in Vietnam, eyeing financial clout in one of the fastest growing Asian economies. Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea’s No. 2 bank by total assets, is at the forefront of the movement. Its flagship commercial bank’s Vietnam subsidiary, Shinhan Bank Vietnam opened three more branches in a single day on July 29. Shinhan Bank Vietnam currently operates 46 branches across Vietnam. Shinhan Bank Vietnam plans to open f