Prosecutors have uncovered additional alleged ethical breaches by former and incumbent staff at the Financial Supervisory Service.The further allegations of corruption by FSS officials are adding to public criticism the regulatory body is facing for its irregularities in supervising savings banks.The alleged scandals mostly involve FSS staff overlooking illegitimate practices in the market in retu

Korea’s money supply grew at the weakest pace in nearly seven years in March as payments of corporate tax drained money circulation, the central bank said Thursday. The country’s M2, a narrow measure of its money supply, reached 1,677.5 trillion won ($1.55 billion) in March, marking a 4.3 percent increase from the figure posted a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. The March reading was

Eight major commercial banks will next month purchase toxic loans totaling 1 trillion won ($923.6 million) issued to the construction sector as part of a bid from the nation’s financial regulators to minimize the negative impact of such loans on the market.Financial companies have issued loans to builders in the name of “project financing” over the past few years. But in the wake of the 2008 globa

Korean banks’ home-backed loans grew by the largest amount in four months in April as the economic recovery spurred loan demand, the central bank said Thursday.Local banks’ mortgage loans reached an outstanding 292.3 trillion won ($269 billion) as of the end of April, up 2.4 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The April number jumped from a 2.1 trillion won on-mont

Decision spurns speculation that Hana Financial-Lone Star deal may break downThe Financial Services Commission announced Thursday that it has decided to indefinitely delay its ruling on whether Lone Star Funds of the U.S. was eligible to buy Korea Exchange Bank in 2003.With the decision, speculation is rising in financial markets that the preliminary contract between Hana Financial Group and Lone

Korea will unveil its road map for the sale of a controlling stake in the second-biggest banking group Woori Finance Holdings Co. next week in a bid to restart its stalled privatization, the financial regulator said Wednesday.The Public Fund Oversight Committee, which handles the sale of state-owned firms, will announce on May 17 how to sell the 56.97 percent government stake in Woori Finance, the

Korea’s central bank is widely expected to resume its tightening move in May by raising the key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in a bid to stem inflationary pressure, a poll showed Wednesday.A total of 14 out of 17 economists forecast that the Bank of Korea will raise the benchmark seven-day repo rate to 3.25 percent on Friday, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the finan

Real interest has stayed below inflation for the past year, devaluing returns on bond investments and deposits at banks, a government report said Wednesday.The interest rate on 1-year savings products at most commercial banks is just over 4 percent, leaving no room for profit given on-year inflation in the 4 percent range on top of a 15.4 percent tax on interest income. “Real returns on deposits w

The number of unemployed fresh college graduates increased by 0.2 percent in April from a year earlier despite a drop in the overall jobless rate, Statistics Korea said Wednesday. Some 63.6 percent of college graduates in their twenties were part of the workforce, posting a 0.3 percent drop from a month earlier, indicating a persistent structural mismatch between the reality of the job market and

Central bank may be given right to inspect financial companiesThe nation’s financial market is focusing on the growing possibility that a proposed revision of the law on the Bank of Korea could pass the National Assembly this year.If the law on the BOK is revised, the central bank ― like the Financial Supervisory Service ― will be entitled to conduct independent inspections into financial companie

Four major financial groups are expected to reap more than 10 trillion won ($9.3 billion) in combined net profit this year, mainly buoyed by revised accounting standards.The market is focusing on the growing feasibility of their all-time high earnings as they reported remarkable earnings during the first quarter.Profits posted by the four groups ― KB, Woori, Shinhan and Hana ― reached 2.6 trillion