The growth of South Korea‘s money supply rose to an eight-month high in October as bank lending remained brisk and the current account surplus widened, the central bank said Wednesday.South Korea’s M2, a narrow measure of the money supply, amounted to 1,742.6 trillion won ($1.5 trillion) in October, up 4.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.In October, M2 growth quickened from a 4.2 percent on-year expansion tallied in September and marked its sharpest growth since 5 per

South Korean banks’ household loans grew at a slower pace in November than the previous month as mortgage loan growth eased, affected by the government‘s efforts to curb household debts, the central bank said Wednesday.Local banks’ household loans, including home-backed and credit loans, reached 453.2 trillion won ($402 billion) as of the end of November, up 1.4 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The November growth slowed from a 3.2 trillion won gain in October

Private lenders saw their outstanding loans snowball by more than 1 trillion won ($877 million) in the first six months of the year.Outstanding loans extended by private lenders reached 8.63 trillion won at the end of June, up 14.2 percent from 7.56 trillion won at the end of December 2010, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The number of borrowers in the industry also increased by 267,000 from about 2.2 million to 2.47 million during the period, the FSS said.Credit-based lending acc

South Korean stocks rose 0.87 percent on hopes that European leaders will take strong actions to deal with the lingering debt problems at a summit later this week, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI gained 16.6 points to 1,919.42. Trading volume was moderate at 396.5 million shares worth 5.7 trillion won ($5.06 billion) with gainers leading losers 577 to 256.“Hopes are high that European leaders will move to change rules to force eurozone countr

South Korea’s national pension fund service has proposed a plan to the government to secure U.S. dollars from abraod to be used for overseas investments, its chief said Tuesday, raising hopes for the stabilization of the local currency market.“The National Pension Service has proposed a plan to the government to raise U.S. dollars for overseas investment from abroad instead of from the local foreign exchange market,” NPS chairman Jun Kwang-woo told the Yonhap News Agency during a telephone inter

A growing number of major foreign investment banks have forecast South Korea’s central bank will lower its key interest rate next year as inflationary pressure loses steam, a report showed Tuesday.The Bank of Korea froze the seven-day repo rate at 3.25 percent for the fifth straight month in November, citing downside growth risks such as Europe’s sovereign debt crisis and continued global financial market jitters.While some foreign investment banks were still betting the BOK will stand pat on th

South Korean stocks slid 1.04 percent on Tuesday as investor sentiment was muted after Standard & Poor’s said it may downgrade the credit ratings of 15 eurozone countries, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI lost 20.08 points to 1,902.82. Trading volume was moderate at 379.3 million shares worth 4.58 trillion won ($4.04 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 579 to 252.“The threat of a downgrade made investors reluctant to increase risky assets a

Securities companies claim new tax could drive away investorsAs the country’s policymakers began to discuss imposing a capital gains tax on shares to increase tax revenues, domestic brokerages expressed concerns about its negative impact on Tuesday.Although the debate is just getting started among politicians, securities houses are voicing their worries as the stakes couldn’t be higher if the current system is modified. The key point of contention is whether the fallout of a capital gains tax wo

Unionized workers of Korea Exchange Bank have mapped out a plan for a general strike, calling on Hana Financial Group to scrap its preliminary deal with Lone Star Funds.Their plan comes after Hana Financial signed a revised preliminary deal to take over KEB from Lone Star over the weekend.Despite the two parties’ recent agreement to lower the takeover price, the KEB union said it is against Hana’s move to pay Lone Star huge management premiums.“According to the situation, we could choose to stag

South Korea’s central bank currently has no plans to tap into its foreign exchange reserves to help the eurozone tackle its debt crisis, the bank’s chief said Monday.“First, it is necessary to watch whether Europe can handle its problems by itself,” Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo told reporters on the sidelines of an international conference, stressing a wait-and-see approach on possible support measures for the debt-mired region.Kim’s remarks come after China announced it will not use its am