The Financial Supervisory Service unearthed a total of 150 cases of illegal foreign exchange transactions in the first half of this year, officials said Tuesday. The number is an increase of 26 percent from the same period last year, when 119 cases were detected, the FSS said in a statement. These crimes were mostly caused by failing to report certain foreign currency-related financial transactions to the banks, as designated in the regulatory act, according to FSS officials.About 65 percent of

The quarterly net profits of local brokerages declined sharply in the first fiscal quarter this year, the nation’s financial regulator said on Sunday. The Financial Supervisory Service said that the 62 securities companies operating here posted a combined quarterly net profit of about 120 billion won ($108 million) in the January-March period, down 73.3 percent from the 446 billion won in the previous quarter. Twenty-one of the 62 securities companies operating here ― 13 local firms and eight fo

Commercial banks and brokerage firms are extending operation hours in branches frequented by nine-to-fivers to get ahead in the race for market share.The business hours of banks here have been almost identical, opening at 9 a.m. and closing at 4 p.m., with the exception of Standard Chartered Bank Korea Ltd. and some branches of NongHyup Bank. Some branches in industrial complex areas, such as Gasan-dong and Wongok-dong in Seoul, had been extending business hours to provide more wiring and foreig

Hana Financial Group unveiled a mutual profit boosting plan for its small and medium-sized corporate partners. The group hosted a mutual prosperity strategy meeting on Tuesday to introduce the plan for its smaller corporate clients in the information technology business.“Some domestic small and medium enterprises with expertise are facing difficulties from blind preference for foreign hardware and software,” said Kim Jung-tai, the group chairman and chief executive, at the meeting. “It is very c

One conglomerate-based and two bank-based financial firms were found to have issued credit cards to dead customers, according to the state regulator on Monday.The Financial Supervisory Service detected 33 cases of identity theft in credit card renewals, where families of deceased credit card users kept and renewed the contract. The FSS has requested the Korea Federation of Banks to biannually submit fiscal transaction information of the deceased since 2011. But credit card sign-up assistants are

The Financial Supervisory Service, the country’s financial regulator, said Sunday that it would co-host a job fair with 17 Korean financial companies in Sept. 28-29 in New York.Dubbed “2013 Fn Hub Korea Finance Job Fair in New York,” the event will offer job consultations and interview potential employees with degrees or experience in finance graduated from U.S. and Canadian universities. Employers plan to recruit those with knowledge and expertise in investment banking, risk management, financi

Consumers in Korea pay more for camping equipment than those in the U.S., Japan and Australia despite low satisfaction over quality, research showed on Thursday. A “Smart Consumer Report” by YWCA Seoul showed that camping equipment made by the same outdoor brands was more costly in Korea than in other countries. But 558 campers in Seoul and surrounding areas who participated in the survey said equipment quality did not match the high prices.The Korean camping market has been on a steady rise, ha

Credit card holders will be banned from paying back cash advances in installments from next February.Major companies including Hyundai Card, KB Kookmin Card, Samsung Card have already halted the practice.Other players that have not yet done so will end installment-based debt payments before March 2014, according to sources in the industry.The move comes after financial authorities urged credit card firms to stop offering the services to help control the country’s snowballing household debt, espe

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., one of the nation’s major financial firms, is pushing for an aggressive merger and acquisition of U.S.-based assets, even as other brokerages express doubts, citing market maturity. The Korean firm is considering forming a consortium with U.S. private equity fund investors to purchase the L.A.-based coffeehouse chain Coffee Bean & Tealeaf. But the deal could be scuppered at any moment, Mirae Asset officials said, refraining from disclosing details related to t

Woori Financial Group on Friday posted another earning shock in its second quarterly report this year, marked by disastrous contraction in net profit.Woori Financial earned 148 billion won ($130 million) in net profit in the second quarter, down about 30 percent from last year. Its second-quarter earnings fell 51.4 percent to 358.3 billion won. The damage comes more lucid when combined with the state-controlled financial group’s first quarterly report. In the first half, the company’s net profit