Deposit withdrawals from secondary banks sharply reduce as officials work to calm marketThe government and financial institutions were trying to calm savings banks’ jitters on Tuesday, pledging fresh support for troubled secondary banks hit by toxic property loans.Concerns over an industry crisis showed signs of subsiding as deposit withdrawals across the country nearly halved from the previous da

The Bank of Korea plans to strengthen its foreign exchange department to more efficiently manage its ever-growing currency reserves and better cope with market volatility.The central bank announced plans to overhaul its organization for the first time in 13 years, focusing on slimming down departments and enhancing international affairs capability.The nation’s foreign currency reserves reached an

The Financial Services Commission suspended operations of four savings banks on Saturday, following its similar sanction against three debt-saddled players since January.The regulator announced that it halted businesses of Busan II Savings Bank, Jungang Busan Savings Bank, Jeonju Savings Bank and Bohae Savings Bank for six months until Aug. 18.The series of measures against distressed savings bank

   South Korean stocks ended 1.82 percent higher Friday as investors hunted for bargains following recent bearish trading, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 35.92 points to 2,013.14, ending above the 2,000-point level for the first time in three sessions. Trading volume was heavy at 488.9 mi

The government faces an uphill battle to legislate tax benefits for Islamic bond investors at a parliamentary session starting Friday amid sturdy objections from opposition politicians and churches.The Finance Ministry is pushing for a bill on Islamic bonds, or sukuk, that would grant tax exemption on profits earned by bondholders in a bid to widen Korea’s access to increasing Middle Eastern oil m

Asian Development Bank appointed Korea’s former financial regulator Rhee Chang-yong as its new chief economist, the bank said Thursday.Rhee, a Korean national, was the vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission and chairman of the Securities & Futures Commission, and has over 20 years experience as an economist, financial advisor and academic, according to the bank. (Bloomberg)

   South Korean stocks started higher on Thursday as investor sentiment got a boost from Wall Street gains sparked by growing optimism about the U.S. economic recovery, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 11.36 points, or 0.57 percent, to trade at 2,000.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading.   Tech shares were in focus with market leader Samsung Electr

The planned merger of Deutsche Boerse AG and NYSE Euronext is to likely to deprive the Korea Exchange of the status as the world’s most actively traded derivative market. The KRX, the world’s No. 1 derivative market, took up 15.9 percent of the trade volume worldwide with about 1.78 billion transactions in the first half of 2010, the Futures Industry Association said. The German-U.S. bourse allian

Daewoo Securities and Samsung Securities increased their dominance in the domestic market with sharp rises in profits last year.Operating profits of the Samsung Securities and Daewoo Securities in the three last quarters of 2010 made 37.63 percent of total raised in the industry, the Korea Exchange said Wednesday.Daewoo topped the list by raising an operating profit of 269.5 billion won followed b