Fubon Bank expands Korea presence into banking
Fubon Bank, Taiwan’s largest bank, is poised to open its first office in Seoul in July, expanding its footprint in South Korea beyond insuranc...
KakaoBank rallies after winning Thai virtual banking license
Shares in KakaoBank Corp. soared as much as 17% to hit their highest level in nearly three years on Friday after the South Korean internet-only bank...
Korea’s stablecoin trade at $42 bn; BOK balks at non-bank stablecoin deals
South Korea’s central bank is cautious about non-banks and fintech firms issuing and handling stablecoins amid a global cryptocurrency rally, ...
BOK turns more dovish after 25 bp rate cut; 2025 growth outlook halved
The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5%, citing growing concerns over faltering do...
Morgan Stanley stalwart Cho bows out after over 10 years at the helm
The investment banking head of Morgan Stanley’s Seoul office is stepping down after overseeing a series of landmark deals over more than a dec...
KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia
KakaoBank Corp., a leading South Korean internet-only bank, posted its highest quarterly profit in the first quarter, defying a drop in interest inc...
Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition
Woori Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s fourth-largest financial services provider, has received conditional approval from the country&rsquo...
Kookmin Bank raises $700 mn in forex bonds amid strong demand
Kookmin Bank, a unit of KB Financial Group, raised $700 million in foreign exchange bonds on Tuesday, signaling a recovery in investor sentiment tow...
Hanwha Ocean shares sink after KDB's sale of 4.2% stake
Investors rushed to dump Hanwha Ocean Co. shares early Tuesday after its second-largest shareholder, Korea Development Bank, cashed in on a 4.2% sta...
Kyobo Life poised to buy Japan’s SBI Group-owned savings bank
Kyobo Life Insurance Co. is in the final stages of negotiation with Japanese financial group SBI Holdings Inc. to buy about a 50% stake in SBI Savin...
Shinhan Bank partners with Hyundai Mobis for loan services to suppliers
Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea’s top auto parts maker, has partnered with the country’s biggest lender Shinhan Bank to help its partners...
Seoul to lift curbs on banks' investment in kimchi bonds
South Korea will lift restrictions on banks' purchase of domestically issued foreign currency bonds, dubbed “kimchi bonds," as part of policy ...
South Korea’s forex reserves dip to nearly 5-year low in February
South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves diminished to the lowest level in nearly five years last month, largely due to the expanded forex swap...
Bank of Korea cuts rates, growth forecast on Trump tariff policy
South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday cut interest rates while sharply reducing its economic growth forecast as lingering political turmoil fo...
S.Korea’s default risk dips below pre-martial law levels
South Korea’s financial market has stabilized with a sharp fall in the country’s default risk and some recovery of its currency value ag...
FOMO-driven gold rush lifts kimchi premium on gold to highest level
With South Korean retail investors joining the global gold rush in ‘fear of missing out’, or FOMO, the country’s gold price has ...
S.Korea to allow listed firms to trade cryptocurrencies in second half
South Korea plans to allow companies listed on the local stock market to trade virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, on a pilot basis in the s...
US Capital Group raises stake in South Korea’s LS Electric
Capital Group Companies Inc. has increased its stake in LS Electric Co., a South Korean supplier to Elon Musk’s X.AI Corp., as the US asset ma...
Shinhan Bank reclaims top spot as S.Korea’s leading lender
Shinhan Bank, a key arm of Shinhan Financial Group, reclaimed its position as South Korea’s top lender posting its largest-ever profit in 2024...
South Korea allows foreigners to trade treasuries via omnibus accounts
South Korea will allow foreign investors to trade South Korean treasury bonds via omnibus accounts under the names of global custodians or asset man...
MBK’s ByungJu Kim, UBS’ Kyungin Lee: Most influential in capital market
Michael ByungJu Kim, co-founder, partner and chairman of Northeast Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd., and Kyungin David Lee, UBS Gl...
Bank of Korea seen cutting interest rates by 25 bps in January
The Bank of Korea (BOK) is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday amid the nation's softening economy and moderating i...
K Bank drops 2025 IPO in 3rd Kospi listing cancellation
K Bank, a South Korean online lender, said on Wednesday it has again canceled its initial public offering plan amid the languid stock market an...
South Korea expands foreign banks' access to forex market
An increasing number of foreign banks without a physical presence in South Korea are gearing up to offer dollar-won conversion services to non-Korea...
Global investment banks see Korean won staying weak in 2025
The South Korean won is forecast to hover in the mid-1,400s level against the dollar through the third quarter of 2025, according to global investme...
Online lender K Bank eyes Feb 2025 IPO at lower valuation
K Bank, a South Korean online lender, is making a fresh attempt to list on the Korean stock market in February 2025 as bitcoin’s record-breaki...
S.Korea’s c.bank chief sees limited impact of political turmoil on economy
South Korea’s central bank chief said on Wednesday the impact of political turmoil caused by martial law on Asia’s fourth-largest econom...
RaonSecure to supply biometrics to SBI Sumishin Net Bank
South Korean cybersecurity firm RaonSecure Co. said on Monday it signed a $2.5 million contract with SBI Sumishin Net Bank, the largest internet ban...
BOK makes 1st back-to-back rate cut since 2009 global crisis
South Korea’s central bank lowered interest rates for a second straight meeting on Thursday in a surprise move and left the door open for anot...
BOK to keep rate at 3.25% in Nov despite dim GDP outlook: survey
South Korea’s central bank is expected to freeze its policy rate at 3.25% during its last monetary policy meeting of the year to prevent any f...
