South Korean banks plan to increase lending for smaller firms by 34.6 trillion won ($32.5 billion) this year, as their funding demand is expected to rise upon a moderate economic recovery, the financial regulator said Thursday.Local banks have recently notified the Financial Services Commission, the country’s financial watchdog, of their lending plan for small and medium enterprises in 2014, the FSC said in a press release.The amount of increase is up 25.4 percent from the 27.6 trillion won bank

South Korean banks plan to increase lending for smaller firms by 34.6 trillion won ($32.5 billion) this year, as their funding demand is expected to rise upon a moderate economic recovery, the financial regulator said Thursday.Local banks have recently notified the Financial Services Commission, the country's financial watchdog, of their lending plan for small and medium enterprises in 2014, the FSC said in a press release.The amount of increase is up 25.4 percent from the 27.6 trillion won bank

South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday as investor sentiment rose on the back of improved retail data from the United States, analysts said. The Korean won closed lower against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 7.21 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,953.28. Trading volume was low at 247.3 million shares worth 3.77 trillion won ($3.54 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 508 to 297.Analysts said Seoul shares closed higher on the back of the improved U.S. reta

Economic policymakers pledged to turn up the heat on state-controlled agencies for their irregularities in their unveiling of a three-year vision for market innovation on Wednesday.The three-year vision features “weeding out some state-run firms’ negligent management and irregular business practices,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said during the economy-related ministers’ meeting.“Policymakers will build up the economy with solid fundamentals by normalizing misconduct

South Korean builders are coming under increasing pressure as they undergo investigation for suspected bid rigging amid difficult market conditions, industry sources said Wednesday.Insiders said the Fair Trade Commission is examining all large-scale public construction projects undertaken during the previous Lee Myung-bak administration. If builders are found to have rigged bidding prices, they could be fined and barred from participating in future projects.The FTC has not confirmed the investig

South Korea manages the largest number of mutual funds, but their sizes are smaller compared to those under management in overseas countries, data showed Wednesday.The number of investment funds under operation came to 9,857 at the end of September, topping the list of 44 countries worldwide surveyed by the U.S.-based Investment Company Institute, according to the data compiled by the Korea Capital Market Institute.But South Korean funds' net assets averaged $28.6 million at the end of September

South Korea’s brokerage houses are slashing their fourth-quarter earnings outlook for listed firms this month, as the prolonged slump in the local economy and a stronger local currency are presumed to have eaten into their profitability, data showed on Tuesday.The operating profit outlook for firms listed on the main bourse was cut by 2.9 percent for the October-December period as of Tuesday from an estimate made a week earlier, according to the data compiled by Shinyoung Securities Co.The outlo

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Tuesday that it was recognized by a global financial magazine for its developed skills in fundraising.The Asset, a leading financial monthly in Asia, has picked state-run Korea Eximbank as “Issuer of the Year,” “Quasi-Sovereign Bond” and “The Best Deal in Korea.”Eximbank spokespeople estimated that The Asset highly appraised the agency’s innovative financial skills despite mounting uncertainties from the U.S. economic policymakers’ action to taper its quantit

Heads of the nation’s top four financial groups will see their annual salaries slashed by at least 30 percent this year, according to regulatory officials on Tuesday.They are Woori Financial chairman Lee Soon-woo, KB Financial chairman Lim Young-rok, Hana Financial chairman Kim Jung-tai and Shinhan Financial chairman Han Dong-woo.The four groups have notified the Financial Supervisory Service of their decision to cut their chiefs’ yearly wages by 30-40 percent from the levels of a year earlier,

South Korean stocks closed higher Monday as the weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data curbed concerns that its central bank may speed up the tapering of its quantitative easing, analysts said. The Korean won closed higher against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 10.38 points, or 0.54 percent, to 1,948.92. Trading volume was low at 263.9 million shares worth 3.31 trillion won ($3.14 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 450 to 360.Analysts said Seoul shares ga

The authorities on Monday urged financial companies to tighten their data security systems against leaks following a massive release of confidential information at some credit card firms last week.The Financial Supervisory Service called into office more than 80 executives in charge of data and security management for an emergency meeting and asked for vigilance in protecting customers’ data from unauthorized access.“Information leakage does not only violate privacy but also undermines growth of

South Korea needs to redefine what constitutes close family relations in its basic tax code law to reflect realistic social and economic conditions, a think tank belonging to an association of conglomerates insisted Monday.According to the Korea Economic Research Institute, the research arm of the Federation of Korean Industries, South Korea maintains outdated taxation rules that define close blood and in-law relatives based on revisions made in 1974. It said such rules do not reflect the way pe

Foreign currency deposits in South Korean banks declined for the first time in seven months in December as companies withdrew money to cover import bills, the central bank said Monday.Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents reached $48.44 billion as of end-December, down $170 million from a record high of $48.61 billion in November, according to the Bank of Korea.It marked the first decline since May when such deposits fell by $1.66 billion.Residents include local cit