The nation’s top financial regulator is investigating four major commercial banks in connection with lending irregularities, banking sources said Wednesday.
Kookmin, Woori, Shinhan and Hana banks are suspected of forcing borrowers to buy their financial products including time deposits, pension and insurance in exchange for lending, they said.
The Financial Supervisory Service has recently completed its preliminary inquiry and will begin a full-fledged probe as early as next week, according the sources.
“The FSS has already collected basic documents through its preliminary probe over the past few weeks,” an industry official close to the matter told The Korea Herald.
Another source said, “As far as I know, the regulatory body is considering dispatching inspectors to the headquarters of the four banks, starting next Monday.”
A senior official at the financial service improvement department of the FSS confirmed the preliminary inspection.
But he declined to comment on the plan for an expanded probe.
“Because of manpower problems, it is not easy for us to send inspectors to those banks simultaneously,” he said.
He said the four lenders may be subject to a full-scale probe “in turn,” even though the FSS has recently increased the number of inspectors.
His department was set up several months ago under FSS Governor Kwon Hyouk-se’s initiative to better protect consumer rights and curb irregularities.
The financial authorities have enhanced their crackdown on the practice of linking bank credit to purchases of their financial products.
But legal loopholes made it difficult for the regulator to take punitive action against violators.
The National Assembly has been reviewing a revised bill on enhance regulations, which has already been approved by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
The bill would clearly ban the practice and dictate that violators are given penalties.
FSS officials are further working with the Financial Services Commission to establish detailed regulations.
By Cynthia J. Kim (cynthiak@heraldcorp.com)
(한글요약)
금융당국, 4개 은행 ‘꺾기’ 조사
금융감독원이 최근 일부 시중은행의 이른바 ‘꺾기’ 대출관행에 대한 전면조사에 착수한 것으로 6일 확인됐다.
복수의 소식통에 따르면 금감원은 상당 기간 성행해 온 것으로 알려진 구속성예금(꺾기) 강요 행태를 근절하기 위해 국민, 우리, 신한, 하나 등 4개 주요은행에 대한 사전검사를 이미 마친 상태다.
금감원은 이르면 다음주부터 이들 4개 은행 본점에 검사역들을 차례로 투입해 현장조사를 실시할 방침인 것으로 전해졌다.
꺾기는 은행이 개인이나 중소기업 등의 고객에게 대출을 해주는 대가로 보험이나 펀드, 적금 등의 가입을 강요하는 행위를 가리킨다.
금감원은 아울러 이 같은 불건전 행위에 대한 법적 제재근거를 마련하기 위해 금융위원회 및 입법기관과의 협의도 진행 중이다.
권혁세 금감원장은 지난 3월 취임 직후 금융회사 검사담당 인력을 확충하는 한편, 소비자보호 강화를 위해 금융서비스개선국 등을 신설한 바 있다.
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