Eased rules for financial firms' overseas biz to be out in July

Korea's top financial regulator announced that regulatory revisions made to support the overseas expansion of Korean financial companies will be unveiled in July, during a conference organized by Financial Services Commission on Monday at the Korea Federation of Banks building in Seoul.

The Financial Services Commission has announced that the regulatory changes will be made based on extensive discussions held during a series of conferences and seminars with insiders from the local financial industry since March.

"During my business trip to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in May, I witnessed our financial firm's determined efforts to overcome significant challenges in the local market. It made me believe in Korean firms' potential and global competitiveness," FSC Vice Chairman Kim So-young said during Monday's conference, which marks the culmination of the last three months of seminars and conferences.

Kim also provided an explanation of the areas where regulatory improvements will be made during the conference.

Kim emphasized that regulations related to the establishment of overseas subsidiaries by financial companies would be significantly relaxed and added that efforts will also be made to ensure that overseas subsidiaries can access funding from their parent companies without difficulty.

Furthermore, there will be a comprehensive review of domestic regulations that pose challenges when applied in overseas markets.

Reporting and disclosure requirements in Korea also will undergo revisions aimed at eliminating redundancy and excessiveness.

Representatives from different financial groups including the Korea Federation of Banks, the Korea Financial Investment Association, the Korea Life Insurance Association, the Credit Finance Association and the Korea Fintech Industry Association presented their global expansion results and future plans.

After these presentations, these representatives expressed a shared concern about encountering difficulties in conducting specific kinds of business due to restrictive laws, despite recognizing the significant potential in overseas markets.

They point especially to the need to ease funding regulations, including to expand credit limits and streamline the process of borrowing for overseas expansion.

Moreover, Korean financial institutions also said they experienced challenges in communicating with local financial authorities in other countries.