Woori Bank sale to resume in 3rd quarter

Financial authorities are considering putting Woori Bank up for sale again during the third quarter after strategic meetings of the Public Fund Oversight Committee in the coming weeks, government officials said Monday.

The Financial Services Commission, the state’s regulator for the industry, has failed to attract a preferred bidder though the taxpayers’ money-injected bank has been put up at auction four times since 2010. A finance-related government agency holds a 51.03 percent stake in Woori.

A commission official noted that the PFOC, a unit of the FSC, planned to hold a series of meetings to map out the method and timetable for the Woori Bank sale, starting later this month. He predicted that the public notice of sale would be made in August or September.

Woori Bank, which absorbed Woori Finance Holdings in November 2014 and has six affiliated firms including Woori Card and Woori America Bank, is one of the four biggest banks in South Korea.

After the FSC made it clear that foreign bidders would be given an opportunity on par with homegrown capital, Woori Bank executives and PFOC chief Park Sang-yong held some investor relations sessions in Europe and the Middle East in May.

Market insiders expect that the authority, after accepting the bid proposals in the third quarter, will select a short list. Investors on the short list will likely be entitled to conduct due diligence on the bank.

Though a few more screening steps remain, the FSC is expected to announce a single negotiator in the fourth quarter.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)