Established in 1961, the Industrial Bank of Korea has continued to focus on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises as a state-controlled lender.In the long-term, the bank is set to prepare to become a comprehensive financial services provider.It has been enhancing its investment banking capability as it seeks to diversify its business portfolio. Customers are seen behind a sign for the Indu

KB Kookmin Wise Card has been attracting a growing number of customers thanks to a variety of noteworthy benefits.The number of holders of its latest credit card surpassed 100,000 in the 18 days after its launch on March 2. By June 14, that number had reached 360,000. KB Kookmin Card unveils a new credit card called “Wise Card.” (KB Card)The Wise Card is a first of its kind in the local market, al

Renault Samsung Motors on Sunday unveiled its updated QM5 crossover utility vehicle that aims to enhance the carmaker’s image as a quality manufacturer of upper-end cars.The new QM5 is a makeover of the existing vehicle with streamlined exterior lines, rearranged headlamps and a radiator grille that gives it a more “urban” style that could be more attractive to Korean consumers.The company, which

Portion of small vehicles continues to drop in American sales over a decadeHyundai Motor had been regarded as a minor player in the United States and had focused on finding a niche. Its main target was the small-sized vehicle market.Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors saw small vehicles account for more than half in their North American sales in 2001.But the portion of small cars in Hyundai

In road show, Italy focuses on Korean auto parts makersHyundai Motor Group held a fair in Italy to give Korean auto parts manufacturers the opportunity to make inroads into the southern European market.The automotive group said Thursday that it held a “Fiat Tech Fair,” a road show for auto components, at Fiat Group Automobiles in Turin, Italy. Hyundai Mobis, a unit of Hyundai Motor Group, hosted t

Regulator focuses on enhancing independence of groups’ unitsRegulators are moving to scale down the authority of major financial group chairmen, saying the current system provides them with “excessive” power to control all of their groups’ units.“The direction would be focused on enhancing the independence of financial groups’ subsidiaries by tackling chairmen’s authority,” said an official of the

Ratio of household credit to GNDI rising: BOKHouseholds’ ability to pay their debts was critically weak during the first quarter as the pace of debt growth surpassed that of income growth.According to the Bank of Korea, the nation’s household credit, including loans and credit purchasing, reached 801.4 trillion won ($750 billion) at the end of March, up 8.4 percent from a year earlier.Central bank