Local demand for loans are expected to rise to a 42-month high in the second quarter, but borrowers are likely to see more obstacles in getting such loans, data showed Tuesday. The Bank of Korea released a survey of 16 banks, showing the tightening lending situation in the domestic financial market at a time when concerns are growing over household debts. “Given increased credit risks amid the economic slowdown, local lenders are likely to beef up risk management for loans for smaller firms,” th

Life insurance firms’ overseas branches saw their net losses snowball last year due to huge cost in operating businesses in foreign countries.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, eight overseas units of three major life insurance companies ― Samsung, Korea and Kyobo ― reported a combined net loss of $16 million (18.2 billion won) in 2011.Their losses increased by 22 percent compared to the figure of 2010, the FSS said.“Though the profit from collecting insurance premiums increased by

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves soared to a fresh high in March due mainly to increased gains from asset management, the central bank said Tuesday.The country’s foreign reserves reached a record high of $315.95 billion at the end of last month, up $150 million from February, according to the Bank of Korea.The previous record was $315.8 billion set in February this year. Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its foreign reserves surpass the $300 billion mark for the first time in April 2011 a

Korea is ripe for high-frequency trading, according to one expert who led a workshop on the subject in Seoul last week. The Speed Traders Workshop took place on Wednesday in Gangnam, covering strategies for high-frequency trading, regulation, the future of the practice and other concepts. High-frequency trading refers to the use of sophisticated technology, allowing for the execution of millions of securities trades per second.The workshop was led by Edgar Perez, author of “The Speed Traders: An

Korean banks are expected to further tighten their grip on loans to small and medium enterprises and households in the second quarter due to their increased credit risks stemming from the eurozone debt crisis and other uncertainties, the central bank said Tuesday.Based on the results of a survey on 16 banks, the Bank of Korea said the index measuring their lending attitude came in at three for the April-June period, compared with seven registered in the previous quarter.The reading marked the lo

South Korean stocks finished 0.76 percent higher on Monday largely due to upbeat economic data from China and an upgrade in South Korea’s rating outlook, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark KOSPI advanced 15.25 point to close at 2,029.29. Trading volume was moderate at 405 million shares worth 4.28 trillion won ($3.95 billion) with gainers outpacing 472 to 330.“China’s economic data eased concerns over a global economic down,” said Kim Byung-yun, an anal

The cost of insuring South Korea’s sovereign debt against default has dropped on the back of eased eurozone debt woes and increased hopes of the U.S. economy recovering, data showed Monday.The credit default swap premium on South Korea’s foreign currency bonds with five-year maturities reached 125 basis points on March 30 on the New York market, down 11 basis points from a month ago, according to the data by the Korea Center for International Finance. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.On Ma

The debt service burden of South Korean households rose sharply last year, as their debt payments increased amid high inflation, the country’s central bank said Monday.The so-called household debt service ratio, an estimate of the ratio of debt payments to disposable personal income, stood at 12.9 percent last year, compared with 11.4 percent a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.“The DSR for all households, excluding the ones in the highest income bracket, rose by two or three points l

Moody’s Investors Service on Monday raised Korea’s sovereign credit outlook to “positive” from “stable,” placing the country right below Japan and Taiwan for strong fiscal fundamentals and resilience in external financing. “Korea’s fiscal fundamentals are very well-placed among its like-rated advanced and emerging economy peers. Its fiscal fundamentals have withstood the global financial crisis, as well as the ongoing eurozone crisis and the drag in global growth,” the credit rating agency said