Major South Korean companies listed on the local stock market have gone through a sea change in their market capitalization rankings over the past two decades amid the rise of large exporters and fall of several banks, data showed Wednesday.The Korea Exchange released the list of the top 50 firms as of January 1997 before the country was battered by an Asiawide financial crisis, often called the IMF crisis here for a massive bailout from the global institution. A composite photo of South Korea's

South Koreans pay for nearly 15 percent of their overseas credit card bills in the won, not local currencies, forking out more in additional fees, government data showed Wednesday.According to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service, South Korean credit card holders' won-based payments of their foreign bills came to 1.4 trillion won ($1.21 billion) in the first quarters of 2016, or 14.7 percent of their combined bills worth 9.6 trillion won. (Yonhap)The number of settlements using the Kore

Cheong Mun-kuk, president & CEO of ING Life Insurance, has been chosen for a second term, company officials said Wednesday, as it plans an initial public offering this year.MBK Partners, a local private equity firm holding a major stake in the Seoul-based insurer, has decided to let him manage the firm for another three years, they added. Cheong Mun-kuk, president & CEO of ING life Insurance (Yonhap file photo)The nomination requires shareholders' approval in their annual meeting to be held late

South Korea's central bank vowed Tuesday to keep the current monetary easing policy to support growth amid uncertainties at home and abroad.The Bank of Korea has left its key rate unchanged at an all-time low of 1.25 percent since June when it made a surprise rate cut to bolster Asia's fourth-biggest economy. (Yonhap)"We plan to maintain the monetary easing policy to support the recovery of economic growth," the BOK said in a report submitted to the National Assembly earlier in the day.The BOK a

South Korea plans to sell 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) worth of Treasury bills next month to speed up frontloading of the government spending in the coming months, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The bills will have a maturity of 63 days and be sold in three separate auctions throughout the month, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. (Yonhap)Treasury bills are designed to raise money to cover short-term financial shortfalls, and thus are generally sold with a maturity of less th

 Korea’s major lender Kookmin Bank said it will team up with KB Securities to offer integrated wealth management services from February.KB Financial Group has set up a new advisory group for wealth management service by pulling experts from investment products and service divisions under the bank and the brokerage, respectively, the bank said. Kookmin Bank's head office in Yeouido, Seoul (Kookmin Bank)The advisory group consists of 24 experts including an investment strategist, a portfolio diver

Profits at South Korea’s major securities firms have declined in 2016 mainly due to weaker stock transactions and losses from derivatives and bond investments amid rising bond yields, industry data showed Tuesday.According to regulatory filings on the Financial Supervisory Service, Samsung Securities’ net profit declined 36.6 percent on-year to 174.4 billion won and operating profit plunged 43.8 percent to 211.7 billion won in 2016. (123rf)HMC Investment & securities also saw its net profit fall

Demand deposits at South Korea's five major commercial banks have exceeded 300 trillion won ($257 billion), as a growing number of people are waiting for investment opportunities, data showed Tuesday.Demand deposits at Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori, KEB Hana and NH banks totaled 327.3 trillion won at the end of last year, an increase of 41.7 trillion won from a year earlier. This undated file photo is of a pile of bank notes. (Yonhap)KB Kookmin posted the largest growth of 11 trillion won, followed

The delinquency rate of domestic banks' won-denominated loans dropped again last month, as they stepped up efforts to reduce bad loans, officials said Tuesday.They were also recovering from the impact of the restructuring of the nation's shipping and shipbuilding industries. (Yonhap)The delinquency rate for bank loans fell 0.17 percentage point on-month to 0.47 in December, according to the Financial Supervisory Service, the country's financial watchdog.It represents a decrease for two months in

The sales of non-life insurance products via the Internet soared last year, as local insurance firms rushed to roll out cheap and online-only products to woo customers, data showed Monday.According to the General Insurance Association of Korea, local non-life insurance companies raised a total of 1.4 trillion won ($1.19 billion) in premiums by selling products through the Internet last year, up 34.3 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)The growth rate is far higher than the 1.3 percent on-year r

South Korea’s pension behemoth is suffering an exodus of fund managers ahead of its planned relocation from Seoul to Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, in late February, according to news reports.The managers’ leaving the National Pension Service coincides with the ongoing political scandal that led the special prosecutor to indict NPS CEO Moon Hyung-pyo on Jan. 16 on charges of abusing power and giving false testimony. He acknowledged having pressured the world’s third-largest pension fund to give

Korea’s major financial groups are likely to witness their 2016 annual profits rise from a year earlier, on profits from increased lending and reduced costs in risk management, industry data showed Monday.According to data by financial information provider FnGuide, combined annual net profits at Shinhan Financial Group, KB Financial Group, Hana Financial Group and Woori Bank are estimated to have hit 7.37 trillion won ($6.27 billion) in 2016, up 1.33 trillion won from 6.39 trillion won in 2015.T

Funds that invest in domestic bonds suffered massive cash outflows in January as investors pulled part of their money out of the funds amid concerns over the accelerating pace of rate hikes, industry data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker FNGuide, domestic funds have logged an outflow of 879 billion won ($752 million) as of Wednesday, and saw a cash outflow of 3.33 trillion won in the past three months as concerns over rate hikes in the United States emerged. (Yonh

The outstanding household loans extended by the country's top five commercial lenders topped the 500 trillion-won ($428 billion) mark last year, as more people took out loans to buy homes and finance their costs for education and other things, industry data showed Monday.According to the data, the outstanding loans extended to households by the country's top five lenders -- Shinhan, Kookmin, Woori, Hana-KEB and Nonghyup -- reached a record high of 500.92 trillion won at the end of last year, up

The privatization of Woori Bank, South Korea's No. 2 lender by assets, is expected to be completed this week after the state deposit insurer receives a final payment for its sale of a major stake. The Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.  signed a 2.4 trillion-won ($2.06 billion) deal with seven institutional investors on the sale of its 29.7 percent stake in Woori Bank. This photo, taken on Nov. 13, 2016, shows people passing by the headquarters of Woori Bank in Seoul. (Yonhap)The deal calls for IMM P