Regulator instructs savings banks to secure sufficient cashThe financial authorities are moving to extend the maturity of bad loans the government purchased from savings banks in a bid to ensure a soft landing for the distressed industry.Between 2008 and 2010, the state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. acquired bad loans of savings banks. The latter are supposed to repurchase the loans in three ye

Korean stocks closed 0.65 percent lower on Tuesday as oil refiners and auto companies tumbled on economic slowdown fears and concerns over oil price falls, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI skidded 13.76 points to 2,099.71, extending its losing run to a fourth straight session. Trading volume was light at 243.8 million shares, worth 6.1 trill

Korea’s central bank may leave the key rate unchanged for the third straight month for June in the face of lingering economic uncertainty, including the eurozone debt woes, a poll showed Tuesday.Nine out of 15 economists forecast that the Bank of Korea will freeze the benchmark seven-day repo rate at 3 percent on Friday, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap N

Regulators mull business suspension, warning CEOs on violatorsCredit card companies which will fail to meet new regulatory standards will face tougher sanctions such as business suspension, financial regulators said Tuesday.In addition, regulators are expected to turn up the heat on card company CEOs as they are poised to issue a censure-level warning against rule-violators.As credit card issuers

Korean stocks are expected to continue their upward trend this week on a series of events that may keep market sentiments afloat, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed this week at 2,113.47, up 0.63 percent from a week earlier.The KOSPI lost ground at the beginning of last week, dipping to 2,093.79 on program and foreign sell-offs. The index rebounded to the 2,100 le

Local food product costs rose twice as fast as national consumer prices in May, fueling inflationary concerns that could exert a negative influence on economic growth, a government report showed Monday.The joint report by the Bank of Korea and Statistics Korea showed prices of 38 staples such as pork fat back cuts, various traditional stews and noodles shot up by more 8 percent last month compared

Lone Star Fund is in talks with Hana Financial Group to recoup another quarterly dividend off the Korea Exchange Bank as part of its re-negotiation to sell its majority stake over to Hana, sources involved in the negotiation said Monday.The insider said details of the payout dividend are expected to arrive when the two officially extend the $4.3 billion takeover deal of KEB for six months. The two

Prosecution charges foreign brokerage workers for the first time; Kyobo Securities brokers also face trialThe prosecution said Sunday it had indicted two former employees of the Hong Kong branch of Credit Suisse Group AG on charges of manipulating Korean stocks.It is the first time staff of a foreign investment bank have been indicted in Korea on such charges, though there was a similar case invol

U.S. investment banking giant Goldman Sachs said Thursday that Korea’s household debt figures are exaggerated, and a liquidity crunch among indebted households is unlikely to occur, thanks to the country’s foreign exchange system.“We think that widely quoted household debt figures are overstated in Korea. ... The numbers, widely quoted by the press, overstate the extent of household indebtedness s

Korean stocks sank 1.27 percent on Thursday as investor sentiment was dented by downbeat U.S. economic data and a cut in Greece’s credit rating, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index tumbled 27.14 points to 2,114.2. Trading volume was moderate at 245.9 billion shares worth 7.19 trillion won ($6.7 billion), with losers outnumb

KDB Financial Group on Thursday expressed its wish not to merge the Korea Development Bank and Woori Bank for years even if it acquires Woori Financial Group.A group executive said, “a dual bank system on a long-term basis will be adopted under the scenario of the merger between KDB Financial and Woori Financial.”He dismissed the speculation that Woori Bank would be absorbed into the state-run KDB