The personal loan interest rate has risen by more than twice as much as the rates paid on savings and bank bonds, data showed Sunday.According to industry and Bank of Korea data, interest rates paid on funds gained by banks through savings, installment deposits and bank bonds came in at 3.1 percent at the end of September, up 0.25 percentage point from the end of last year.While changes in interest rates on loans are customarily linked to changes in rates on interest given by banks, the pattern

Regulator’s action against Lone Star Funds raises legal issuesHana Financial Group continues to face a hurdle in its plan to acquire Korea Exchange Bank from Lone Star Funds despite a court’s ruling that the U.S.-based equity fund engaged in stock manipulation.Over the past month, the Financial Services Commission has been in the preliminary stages of ordering Lone Star to sell a large portion of its stake in KEB following the court’s verdict on Oct. 6, which may pave the way for Hana Financial

South Korean stocks surged 3.13 percent on Friday, boosted by hopes Greece will abandon a controversial national vote on terms of a eurozone bailout package, analysts said. The local currency shot up against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index jumped 58.45 points to 1,928.41. Trading volume was heavy at 461.5 million shares worth 7.1 trillion won ($6.4 billion), with gainers far outnumbering losers 706 to 147. “The referendum called by Greek Prime Minister George Papa

South Korea’s state-run Industrial Bank of Korea said Friday that its third-quarter earnings rose 12.5 percent from a year earlier due to an increase in interest income. Net income amounted to 410.3 billion won ($369.3 million) in the July-September period, compared with 366.3 billion won the previous year, the state-run bank, which mostly caters to small and medium enterprises, said in a regulatory filing.Compared with three months earlier, net profit declined 14.7 percent as the bank recorded

Korea’s two financial regulatory bodies agreed to set up an agency aimed at protecting consumers after ironing out many of their differences. The new agency will be established early next year.The Financial Services Commission, whose primary role is to set financial policies, and the Financial Supervisory Service, an agency authorized to inspect and punish financial firms that fail to protect consumers, were locked in a battle for influence over the new organization.FSC officials said on Friday

South Korea needs to frame its macroeconomic policy in order to stabilize overall economic situations as the country still faces high global uncertainties that could impede its recovery and growth, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.A slowing private-sector recovery, deepening fiscal debt problems in advanced nations and belt-tightening by emerging countries will also likely combine to further slow global economic growth, the ministry said.“The global economy is expected to stay on a low-growth

The North Korean economy contracted for the second straight year in 2010 due to tougher international sanctions and sluggish agricultural production, the South Korean central bank estimated Thursday.The Bank of Korea estimated that the communist country’s economy shrank 0.5 percent on-year last year, compared with a 0.9 percent contraction in 2009. The data stood in sharp contrast to the 6.2 percent expansion of the South Korean economy in 2010.The North Korean economy grew 3.1 percent in 2008 o

CEO Hill promotes reform to compete with local commercial banksStandard Chartered First Bank is pushing for operational reforms to enhance its competitiveness in the banking sector after suffering from months of striking by its unionized staff. Bank CEO Richard Hill disclosed its intention to open several branches which offer offline and online services 24 hours a day and seven days a week. These would be the first of their kind in the local financial sector.Meeting reporters in New York on Wedn

CEO Hill promotes reform to compete with local commercial banksStandard Chartered First Bank Korea is considering opening several branches which offer offline and online services 24 hours a day and seven days a week, the first of their kind in the local financial sector.For the plan, the bank is reportedly benchmarking the case of a Singapore unit of the U.K.-based Standard Chartered Group.“In a shopping mall in Singapore, there is an SC bank branch providing customers with services till late at

The Financial Supervisory Service is set to conduct inquiries into five credit card companies to monitor their cyber security measures against possible leaks of customer information.The firms are BC Card, Shinhan Card, Hyundai Card, KB Kookmin Card, Lotte Card.BC Card has been scheduled to be under yearly regulatory probe and the remaining four issuers will be subject to extraordinary scrutiny in the wake of the frequent financial accidents in the credit card sector.The FSS has already completed

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Thursday that it has placed 13 more companies on its watch list that limits mutual investments and loan guarantees.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said the number of corporate affiliates on the list stood at 1,618 from 55 business group

South Korea’s non-life insurers suffered massive losses from their car insurance business in the fiscal first half as heavy summer downpours led to a surge in claims, watchers said Wednesday.The combined net loss of 14 local non-life insurers’ auto insurance businesses reached 108.3 billion won ($959.1 million) in the April-September period, according to industry data. Local insurers close their books on March 31.The losses were mostly attributed to severe flooding in July that swamped thousands

Critics call for regulator to reject Hana’s KEB takeoverThe nation’s financial regulator has been under mounting pressure to take stern action against Lone Star Funds, which was convicted of manipulating stocks of Korea Exchange Bank’s credit card affiliate.In particular, a group of lawmakers, professors and lawyers are calling for the Financial Services Commission to reject Hana Financial Group’s application to acquire KEB from Lone Star.Their calls come amid speculation that the FSC may “simpl

Local analysts optimistic that referendum on bailout unlikely to happen in GreeceKorea’s stock market ended slightly lower on Wednesday, erasing earlier losses sparked by the heightened concern that a Greek referendum might derail Europe’s rescue plan. The benchmark KOSPI index closed down 11.62 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1,898.01. The tech-packed junior KOSDAQ eked out a gain of 1.13 points, or 0.23 percent, to end at 483.49.The Korean won opened at 1,131 won in a reflection of shaky sentiment