The financial regulator said Tuesday it will ease rules for banks and other financial institutions to acquire more financial technology firms, in a fresh bid to support the fintech industry. Currently, banks and other financial institutions are allowed to acquire fintech firms only in the sectors of electronic payment and software development.  Critics say such a rule is outdated, given the fast-growing market for fintech firms. Since 2015, local financial firms have acquired only 3 fintech

Hyundai Card Design Library wrapped up its renovation and reopened its doors to visitors in early November, aimed to improve visitor experience and better meet visitors’ needs. The facility opened in 2013 as the world’s largest design library at the time, and is now one of four libraries operated by the South Korean credit card company, alongside a travel library, music library and cooking library. Marking the sixth anniversary of its operation, Hyundai Card Design Library has b

An investment management service that works through voice recognition will be added to Bixby, Samsung Electronics’ flagship artificial intelligence-based platform.Through voice commands, Bixby will not only be able to deliver company information, such as revenue and profit, from financial statements, but also invest in certain stocks or market sectors upon a user’s request.The development of the new Bixby service is set to be completed by the first half of 2019, according to financia

Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku said Wednesday more risk-bearing initial public offerings in the Korean stock bourse are prerequisites for a breakthrough in the growth of Korean companies, calling it an “elemental role of the capital market.”“Ordinary companies draw investments through a cooperation between banks and a capital market,” Choi said in a meeting with representatives of Korean securities firms. “Startups and budding venture companies

Woori Bank, South Korea’s third-largest commercial lender in terms of operating profit, said Wednesday that it will allocate 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) to supporting midsized enterprises by 2022.The bank unveiled its road map during a business summit at Seoul’s Plaza Hotel, an event hosted jointly with the Association of High Potential Enterprises of Korea.Announcing a mid-term plan named “Great Vision 2022,” Woori Bank pledged to create a financial package worth about

FSS, KFB invite officials of Bank of Thailand for seminar with Korean banks, credit card companies

　SEJONG (Yonhap) -- Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon held a meeting with a senior Chinese politician Monday during which they discussed ways to promote economic ties between the two nations, Kim‘s ministry said. 　Kim met Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong, who is on a visit to Seoul to attend an economic forum. 　China unofficially imposed retaliatory measures against South Korean firms after Seoul agreed to install the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System. Tension thawed after

South Korea’s financial groups are facing potentially massive reshuffles of their executive teams as a majority of the incumbents at commercial lenders and their holding companies approach the end of their tenure at year-end. According to disclosures from the respective financial holding companies -- KB, Shinhan, KEB Hana, Woori and NH -- sweeping changes may be ahead for the new year. KB Financial Group will see 12 out of 16 executives, excluding auditors, end their terms in December. At

South Korea’s capital city is poised to set up a state-sponsored financial infrastructure project aimed at lowering card payment-processing costs for small merchants. But there are already doubts about the plan’s sustainability due to the lack of a revenue model.The operation of what is called “Zero-Pay,” referring to near-zero payment-processing fees, will start in December, but the date of the launch has yet to be confirmed, according to state sponsors the Ministry of S

Citibank Korea said Wednesday it plans to pay out an interim dividend worth some 827.5 billion won ($731.3 million) in cash to its Delaware-based US parent company Citibank Overseas Investment Corporation.  The payout to COIC, an indirect subsidiary of New York-based Citigroup, will be executed by end-2018, according to the US investment banking giant‘s Korean banking unit. The decision came after a board of directors’ meeting Wednesday attended by four outside directors. T

Foreign currency deposits at South Korean lenders fell for the first time in four months in October due to decreased dollar holdings amid the strengthening US greenback, central bank data showed Thursday, ending a three-month gaining streak that started in July.South Korean banks held foreign currency deposits totaling $68.11 billion at the end of last month, down $5.52 billion from a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said. Foreign currency deposits include those held by foreigners who have staye

South Korean nonprofit organization Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs unveiled Wednesday plans to provide 345 billion won ($304.7 million) over three years to local startups to support their growth and job creation.  Of the total, 320 billion won will go to a new fund of venture capital funds managed by Korea Growth Investment Corp. The volume of subordinate funds will amount to a combined 1.6 trillion won asset for budding Korean startups. According to KGI’s plan in October, m

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol has been elected to the board of the Bank of International Settlements, the central bank in South Korea said Tuesday.At the BIS board of directors meeting in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday, Lee became the 11th member of the 18-person panel, according to the BOK.He will start his three-year term in January next year."This appointment recognizes the importance of Asia in the global financial system and in the BIS's activities and governance.Moreover, it reflects

The chief of South Korea’s capital investment business association on Tuesday urged the nation to prepare for a looming global “investment war,” which he views as a global phenomenon that will soon supersede the ongoing trade war in importance. Kwon Yong-won, chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, stressed the need for investment firms to keep pace with global “innovative growth” and to lay the groundwork for tech entrepreneurship with substantial c

South Korea's top financial regulator on Tuesday called on banks and other financial institutions to support companies currently undergoing restructuring and struggling with a liquidity shortage. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, made the remarks as he visited an auto parts firm in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, earlier in the day.   Choi said South Korea's main industrial sectors, including the auto industry, are facing "difficulties because their competitiv