Press Releases - Financial Services Commission

Press Releases

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Oct 12, 2023

Government and Related Authorities Hold Meeting on Household Debt

The Financial Services Commission held a meeting to discuss the current household debt situation with officials from the relevant government ministries and organizations on October 12. In September (up KRW2.4 trillion), household debt growth decelerated significantly compared to the previous two months (up KRW5 trillion to KRW6 trillion). However, as the slowdown in the trend of household debt growth could have been affected by temporary and seasonal factors, such as a drop in credit loans due to inflows of Chuseok holiday bonuses and the end-quarter write-off of bad debt by specialized credit finance businesses, the authorities concluded that it is necessary to continue to monitor the trends for some time to determine whether the current slowdown can be seen as a sustained one. In the banking sector, both individual mortgage loans and policy mortgage loans expanded at notably slower rates backed by the household debt management measures taken by the financial authorities. The pace of decline in other types of loans also expanded. In particular, with borrowers repayment capabilities being reviewed more strictly, the amount of newly issued 50-year mortgage loans dropped from KRW4.8 trillion in August to KRW4.2 trillion in September. The authorities expect that the strengthened long-term mortgage lending measure will start to have fuller effect beginning in October. The nonbanking sector also saw a larger decline in household loans (down KRW0.8 trillion in August down KRW2.5 trillion in September) due to increases in market rates and inflows of holiday bonuses. The authorities had a favorable assessment about the latest household debt statistics, but shared the same view on the need to continue to closely manage the pace of household debt growth as it can be influenced by housing market and interest rate situations. Therefore, the financial authorities will promptly implement the household debt management measures (such as introducing a stressed DSR limit within this
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Oct 12, 2023

Household Loans, September 2023

The outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors rose KRW2.4 trillion in September 2023 (preliminary), growing at a slower rate than the previous month. Compared to a year ago, household loans dropped 0.3 percent. * Change (in trillion KRW): +0.2 (Apr 2023), +2.8 (May), +3.5 (Jun), +5.3 (Jul), +6.1 (Aug), +2.4 (Sep) (By Type) Home mortgage loans continued to grow but at a slower rate, while other types of loans fell at an expanded level. Mortgage loans rose KRW5.7 trillion overall with a fall of KRW0.4 trillion in the nonbanking sector and an increase of KRW6.1 trillion in the banking sector. Mortgage loans from banks expanded at a slower rate compared to the previous month (up KRW7.0 trillion). Other types of loans dropped KRW3.3 trillion overall with declines seen from both the banking (down KRW1.3 trillion) and nonbanking (down KRW2.1 trillion) sectors. (By Sector) Household loans grew at a slower rate in the banking sector, while decreasing at a faster rate in the nonbanking sector. Banks saw a rise of KRW4.9 trillion of household loans in September, down from an increase of KRW6.9 trillion in the previous month. Mortgage loans in the banking sector grew KRW6.1 trillion overall with group lending for new apartment subscription (up KRW0.3 trillion) and jeonse loans (up KRW0.1 trillion) going up at slightly faster rates and individual mortgage loans (up KRW3.6 trillion) and policy mortgage loans (up KRW2.1 trillion) rising at slower rates. Other types of loans declined KRW1.3 trillion as credit loans dropped at a faster rate (down KRW1.2 trillion). Household loans in the nonbanking sector dropped KRW2.5 trillion overall, edging down at a faster rate than the previous month (down KRW0.8 trillion). Insurance companies (up KRW0.3 trillion) saw an increase in household loans, but mutual financial companies (down KRW1.9 trillion), savings banks (down KRW0.1 trillion) and specialized credit finance businesses (down KRW0.8 trillion) all saw drops i
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Oct 10, 2023

KoFIU Unveils H1 2023 Survey Result on Virtual Asset Service Providers

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) conducted a survey on 35 registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to see the current state of the domestic virtual asset market and keep relevant statistics up to date. Survey Overview (Respondents) 35 VASPs (26 exchange service providers and 9 other businesses) (Survey Method) Data collected from VASPs (Period Covered) January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023 Key Survey Findings for H1 2023 The domestic market for virtual assets in H1 2023 saw increases in terms of market capitalization, deposit (in KRW) and the exchange service providers operating profits as virtual asset prices rose and investment sentiment recovered. Among 21 coin-only exchange service providers, continuing business operation appears to be difficult for 10 of them as they showed no record of sales from transaction fees. The market capitalization at the end of June 2023 stood at KRW28.4 trillion, up 46 percent from KRW19.4 trillion at the end of 2022. In the same period, the amount of deposits (in KRW) also increased to KRW4.0 trillion, up 11 percent from KRW3.6 trillion at the end of 2022. The operating profits of VASPs amounted to KRW227.3 billion in the first half of 2023, up 82 percent from KRW124.9 billion during the previous six months. According to the survey, the frequency of new coin listings and trading suspensions (due to delisting) also increased. There were 169 new virtual asset listings in the first half of 2023, up 128 percent from 74 new listings in the previous six months. The number of delisted coins also rose during the same period from 78 in H2 2022 to 115 in H1 2023. There were 622 different types of virtual assets being circulated in the domestic market in H1 2023 and 366 of them were virtual assets listed exclusively by single exchange service providers. Despite a recovery seen in the virtual asset market, the volume of domestic virtual asset transactions and the number of users declined somewhat. Between H2 2022 and H1 2023,
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Oct 05, 2023

FSC Holds Meeting to Ensure Seamless Implementation of Financial Measures Intended to Boost Housing Supply

The Financial Services Commission held a meeting with related government ministries, policy financial institutions and financial industry representatives on October 5 to check the implementation plan of the financial measures announced earlier on September 26 that are intended to boost housing supply. At the meeting, the authorities discussed (a) ways to expand the supply of project finance (PF) lending support by policy financial institutions, (b) the current situation in preparing the real estate PF market normalization fund and (c) establishing an oversight and management system to enhance the effectiveness of the measures. Expanding policy financial institutions supply of PF lending support The Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF) and the Korea Housing Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) have each raised the size of PF guarantees available by KRW5 trillion for a total of KRW10 trillion in additional guarantee capacity. The policy financial institutions (Korea Development Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea and Korea Credit Guarantee Fund) will begin to supply KRW7.2 trillion or more from this month to ensure stability of real estate development projects and construction firms. In addition, Construction Guarantee (CG) is currently preparing to make available KRW6 trillion worth of guarantee support programs intended to help construction companies engaged in non-housing (non-apartment) development projects. Until the end of this year, the five major financial holding companies will continue to make available about KRW4 trillion in lending supports for the real estate development projects currently operating. Real estate PF market normalization fund At the meeting, the authorities went over the current situation in creating a real estate PF market normalization fund in the size of KRW2.2 trillion, which is intended to supply funds necessary for normalizing and restructuring of illiquid or at-risk projects. First, a matching fund raised by the Korea Asset Management Corp
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Oct 04, 2023

FSC Chairman Visits Japan with Aims to Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation in Financial Sectors

Chairman Kim Joo-hyun of the Financial Services Commission visited Japan from October 2 to 4 in a move to strengthen bilateral cooperation in financial sectors. On his trip, Chairman Kim held a meeting with his Japanese counterpart at the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and agreed to resume the shuttle meeting between the financial authorities of two countries. Chairman Kim also took part in the Nikkei Sustainable Forum to deliver a speech and attended the first ever Korea-Japan collaboration startup fund launching event and held talks with Korean financial companies doing business in Japan. Meeting with Korean financial companies operating in Japan While meeting with the Korean banks, insurance companies and financial investment businesses operating in Japan, Chairman Kim held talks on the financial industry and market situation in Japan, business operation of each company and their challenges and suggestions. Emphasizing on the need to have active cooperation from the private sector, Chairman Kim said that bilateral cooperation between Korea and Japan is expanding beyond the traditional security and diplomatic domains into other areas. By maintaining close communication with the FSA of Japan, Chairman Kim said that the FSC will work to resolve business challenges experienced by Korean financial companies doing business in Japan and actively support cooperation between financial companies of two countries. Nikkei Sustainable Forum Attending the Nikkei Sustainable Forum, which was held as part of the Japanese governments Japan Weeks event, Chairman Kim delivered closing remarks where he talked about the importance of strengthening financial cooperation between the two countries in the areas of startup and venture businesses where they have high growth potentials. Korea-Japan banking industry MOU and joint seminar Chairman Kim attended the Korea-Japan banking industry groups MOU signing event and joint seminar on green and digital transformation and delivered congrat
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Oct 03, 2023

Financial Authorities of Korea and Japan Agree to Hold Meetings Regularly

Chairman Kim Joo-hyun of the Financial Services Commission held a meeting with Japans Financial Services Agency Commissioner Teruhisa Kurita on October 3. The meeting between the chief financial authorities of two countries is the first time in eight years since 2015. After the meeting, the financial authorities of Korea and Japan released a joint press statement underlining the significance of the meeting as a start of resuming the so-called shuttle meeting between the financial authorities of two countries against the backdrop of a normalizing bilateral relationship between the two countries. Joint Press Release 1. The Chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of the Republic of Korea, KIM Joo-hyun and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan, KURITA Teruhisa met in Tokyo today. 2. At the meeting, they agreed to resume the Shuttle Meeting and tomeet regularly between the financial authorities of the two countries. The meeting will be held in Seoul, Korea on December 19 and 20, 2023 and it will be the first meeting since 2016. 3. They agreed that sharing experiences and exchanging views on issues of their mutual interest, such as climate change and digitalization of financial services would be useful. They also discussed possible areas for deepening their cooperation aimed at safeguarding financial stability and fostering the financial markets of both countries. 4. They welcomed the Joint Seminar between the Japan Bankers Association and the Korea Federation of Banks held today, and hope the financial institutions of both countries to continue their constructive discussions towards further improvements in the quality of their financial services. * Please refer to the attached file for details.
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Sep 26, 2023

Government to Prepare Measures to Overhaul Rules on Mutual Financial Businesses

The Financial Services Commission held the 3rd consultative body meeting on mutual financial businesses with related government ministries and mutual financial businesses on September 26. At the meeting, the authorities decided to draw up a joint plan to overhaul and update the current regulatory framework on mutual financial businesses in line with the growth of the sector and changes in their operating environment. The authorities also decided to set up and operate a daily monitoring system from mid-October to closely check the liquidity condition of mutual financial businesses. In terms of the size of total assets, between end-2013 and end-June 2023, the mutual finance industry has grown from KRW475 trillion to more than KRW1 quadrillion, with some entities growing to the level equivalent to a commercial financial institution within a region. In addition, the nature of their operation has shifted as loans extended to households by mutual financial businesses declined in recent years, while the volume of corporate lending from them has expanded significantly. Considering this growth and change in the operating environment of mutual financial businesses, the authorities exchanged views on the need to shore up rules on their prudential management and governance structure. Amid ongoing concerns about the soundness and liquidity conditions of the mutual finance industry, the authorities also shared views on the need to strengthen risk management in vulnerable areas while ensuring the provision of prompt liquidity support if needed. With regard to the application of key consumer safeguard measures guaranteed under the Financial Consumer Protection Act, for which most mutual financial businesses other than credit unions are exempted, the authorities talked about the need to introduce safeguard measures even before they are put into relevant laws. Lastly, the authorities went over the liquidity condition of mutual financial businesses. Although it is stable currently, th
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Sep 25, 2023

CD Rate as Critical Benchmark Rate to Take Effect from October 2

The Financial Services Commission announced that the certificate of deposit (CD) rate as a critical benchmark rate under the Act on the Management of Financial Benchmarks will take effect from October 2. The disclosure of CD rates based on an updated calculation method will be available from October 4. In March 2021, the FSC selected the CD rate as a critical benchmark rate under the Act on the Management of Financial Benchmarks, and decided to designate Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) as the administrator of critical benchmark rate in June 2023. Allowing a period of adjustment concerning the change in CD rate calculation method, the authorities granted a grace period of about three months. As the CD rate as a critical benchmark rate will take effect from October 2, financial institutions using CD rates will be required to provide explanation to investors about their use of critical benchmark rate for both new and renewal contracts. The KOFIA will begin to disclose CD rates using an updated calculation method starting from October 4. As this change in the critical benchmark rate takes place in the market, for the first six months, the financial authorities will focus on ensuring a seamless transition and adoption by financial institutions. * Please refer to the attached file for details.
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Sep 25, 2023

Online Loan Transfer Service to be Available for Housing Loans

The Financial Services Commission announced that the online loan transfer service will be available for mortgage loans for apartments and jeonseloans for all housing types, allowing borrowers to compare different rates online and make a switch to the one offering lower interest rates. From May 31, 2023, the online loan transfer systems service availability has been expanded to include individual credit loans. As of September 15, a total of 67,384 transfers have been made with the volume of loans reaching more than KRW1.58 trillion. On average, applicants received interest rate cuts of 1.5 percentage points, and their total annual saving in interest payments is estimated to be more than KRW30 billion. The borrowers who switched loans saw their credit scores increase, and there has been more competition between financial companies in lowering interest rates. Based on these favorable outcomes, the authorities plan to expand the service availability to include home-backed mortgage loans for apartments and jeonse loans for all housing types. Previously, the process of switching a mortgage loan or a jeonse loan was ridden with inconveniences, as there were no sufficient loan comparison platforms and due to the hassle of having to visit multiple financial institutions. To help remove these inconveniences, the authorities will develop an online loan transfer infrastructure for housing loans joined by about 19 loan comparison platforms and some 32 financial companies. Relevant information sharing between financial companies will take place to ensure a seamless loan transfer experience for consumers. The loan transfer infrastructure for housing loans is expected to be set up by the end of 2023 and open to public in stages beginning in January 2024. The authorities expect that this will bring about more choices for financial consumers and open up new opportunities for financial companies and fintech businesses. * Please refer to the attached file for details.
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Sep 25, 2023

Policy Funds to Supply Venture Capital in Strategic Areas

The Financial Services Commission held the 4th consultative body meeting on policy finance support with the related government ministries, policy financial institutions and a young entrepreneurs foundation on September 25. The consultative body on policy finance support was created last year to ensure more close alignment between the governments industrial strategies and supply of policy funds. In the five key strategic areas, the authorities last year pledged to supply a total of KRW91 trillion in policy funds support for 2023. As of August 2023, policy financial institutions have supplied a total of KRW73.8 trillion of policy funds support in the five key strategic sectors, achieving 80.4 percent of the annual supply target and surpassing the initial supply plan of 66.7 percent by the month of August. Along with concerns about an economic slowdown emanating from China, FSC Vice Chairman Kim So-young said that it is possible that interest rates and oil prices may continue to stay high for a while. Thus, in close coordination with relevant ministries, Vice Chairman Kim said that the authorities will work to ensure effective supply of policy funds to businesses to prevent funding shortages. To help ensure a continuous supply of policy finance support in each industry, the authorities discussed ways to more closely implement various industrial policy programs overseen by relevant government ministries with appropriate budget planning. In this regard, Vice Chairman Kim said that in order to provide policy finance support to various industrial sectors on a continuing basis, it is crucial to have a closer linkage between the supply of policy finance and fiscal planning. The authorities also discussed ways to overhaul the operation of Growth Ladder Fund, a fund dedicated for SMEs and venture businesses whose 10-year investment period has ended in August. The new Growth Ladder Fund will focus on investing in underfunded areas such as deep tech and climate sectors where the
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Sep 21, 2023

Capital Market Investigation Unit Commemorates Ten Years of Establishment and Lays Out Plans Ahead

The Financial Services Commission held an event commemorating the capital market investigation units establishment ten years ago together with the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Exchange on September 21. The authorities also set out plans to bolster market surveillance, investigation and punishment on unfair trading activities in capital markets. Speaking about the significance of the work performed by the investigation unit, FSC Chairman Kim Joo-hyun said that along with the increasing number of investors in capital markets in recent years, the nature of unfair trading activities has also become diversified with a growing number of incidents involving more sophisticated and organized forms of crimes taking place. Since unfair trading activities constitute serious crimes that can erode investor confidence in capital markets, Chairman Kim said that it is crucial to maintain stringent countermeasures against them. In this regard, Chairman Kim emphasized on the importance of the measures being announced today as they are aimed at bolstering market surveillance, investigation and punishment on unfair trading activities in capital markets. More specifically, the measures will first strengthen inter-agency coordination and collaboration among all relevant authorities to ensure that the governments efforts to counter unfair trading activities are carried out as one team. Second, the authorities will improve the market surveillance and investigation process and shore up organizational capacity to ensure that effective detection, prompt investigation and strict punishment can take place on various types of unfair trading activities. Third, the authorities will work on seamless preparation for the enforcement of penalty surcharges as a newly available means for sanctioning unfair trading activities, while actively seeking to adopt additional sanctions mechanisms including an asset freeze, a trading ban and a ban on
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Sep 13, 2023

Government Holds Meeting on Household Debt and Introduces Measures to Strengthen Management

The Financial Services Commission held a meeting to discuss the current household debt situation with officials from the relevant government ministries and organizations on September 13 and announced a set of measures aimed at strengthening management of household debt growth. With the volume of housing transactions recovering in July-August, the balance of household debt also continued to expand, led by mortgage loans in the banking sector. Especially, in July-August, the heightened competition between banks to introduce 50-year mortgage loans, in effect, pushed up the growth pattern. Under the current situation, 50-year mortgage loans can be utilized to circumvent the debt service ratio (DSR) rule by borrowers, and excessive lending or speculation in the property sector can potentially exacerbate the risk of household debt. As such, the authorities at the meeting agreed on the need to more closely manage and avert potential risks from long-term mortgage loans. Moreover, with regard to the issuance of special Bogeumjari loan, the pace of application has largely declined with upward adjustment of interest rates taking place in July-August. On special Bogeumjari loan, the authorities shared the same view that the availability of policy lending support through the remaining capacity of special Bogeumjari loan should focus on lower income households and non-speculative homebuyers. Strengthening Management of Household Lending in Banking Sector The government plans to take prompt measures to ensure that long-term mortgage loans (with 40-yr or 50-yr maturity) are not being utilized as a means of bypassing loan regulations. The authorities will ensure that banks are strictly following the principle of lending within the borrowers repayment capability and strengthen rules on debt service ratio (DSR) to prevent banks from engaging in loose management of household loan issuance, especially in their handling of 50-year mortgage loans. To this end, first, the authorities will
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Sep 13, 2023

Household Loans, August 2023

The outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors rose KRW6.2 trillion in August 2023 (preliminary), going up for the fifth consecutive month. Compared to the same month of the previous year, household loans dropped 0.5 percent. * Change (in trillion KRW): -5.1 (Feb 2023), -5.1 (Mar), +0.2 (Apr), +2.8 (May), +3.5 (Jun), +5.3 (Jul), +6.2 (Aug) (By Type) Home mortgage loans continued to grow but other types of loans fell at a greater pace. Mortgage loans rose KRW6.6 trillion overall with a drop of KRW0.4 trillion in the nonbanking sector and an increase of KRW7.0 trillion in the banking sector. Other types of loans decreased KRW0.4 trillion as banks and nonbanks both saw drops of KRW0.1 trillion and KRW0.3 trillion, respectively. sector. Banks saw a rise of KRW6.9 trillion of household loans in August, an increase for five straight months. Home mortgage loans went up KRW7.0 trillion in the banking sector, despite a fall of KRW0.1 trillion in jeonse loans, as individual mortgage loans (up KRW4.1 trillion), policy mortgage loans (up KRW2.7 trillion) and group lending for new apartment subscription (up KRW0.2 trillion) all went up. Other types of loans dropped KRW0.1 trillion as credit loans grew (up KRW0.03 trillion) at a slower pace. Household loans in the nonbanking sector declined KRW0.7 trillion overall. Insurance companies and specialized credit finance businesses saw increases of KRW0.3 trillion and KRW0.6 trillion, respectively, while mutual finance companies and savings banks saw drops of KRW1.5 trillion and KRW0.1 trillion, respectively. Household loans continued to grow in August led by home mortgage loans in the banking sector. By encouraging lenders to carry out credit evaluation based on individual borrowers payment capability and conducting on-site inspections on banks household loans, the authorities will work to ensure stable management of household loans throughout the second half of this year. * Please refer to the attached file f
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Sep 11, 2023

FSC Vice Chairman Holds Investor Relations in Hong Kong to Promote Investment in Korean Capital Markets

Vice Chairman Kim So-young of the Financial Services Commission visited Hong Kong on September 8 on the final leg of his weeklong trip to Indonesia, Vietnam and Hong Kong intended to boost financial cooperation with the region. IR event with Global Investors Vice Chairman Kim held an IR event for global investors to explain key policy updates regarding recent improvements made to Koreas capital and foreign exchange markets. Since the beginning of this year, the government has introduced a series of regulatory reform measures intended to increase regulatory consistency with global standards and improve investment environment for global investors. The government has been making continuous efforts to communicate with various stakeholders to inform its reform measures. As a part of this effort, an IR event was held in Hong Kong to attract more capital inflows into Korean capital markets and facilitate companies to raise funds. About 40 participants from 20 global asset management companies and insurance companies attended the event showing a high level of interest. Vice Chairman Kim gave a comprehensive presentation on the governments key market reform efforts, including the abolishment of foreign investors registration requirement, improvements made to companies dividend payout procedure, adoption of an ex-ante disclosure rule for insider transactions and so on. Vice Chairman Kim then underscored the governments strong willingness to make changes to capital markets and upgrade investment environment to ensure a virtuous cycle from investment to growth to reinvestment. Global investors in attendance had favorable views about the event, saying that it was such a great opportunity to meet with the regulators in person and exchange opinions on important policies. Meeting with Deputy Chief Executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority Vice Chairman Kim held a meeting with Deputy Chief Executive Arthur Yuen of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to exchange views on recent global m
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Sep 08, 2023

FSC Vice Chairman Visits Vietnam to Strengthen Cooperation on Digital Finance

Vice Chairman Kim So-young of the Financial Services Commission visited Vietnam on September 6-7 on a second leg of his weeklong trip to Southeast Asia intended to promote export of Korean financial services infrastructure and boost cooperation with the region. Vietnam is one of the countries hosting a large number of Korean financial companies with significant interest in fintech and digital finance. As of the end of March 2023, there were some 58 local branches operated by 44 Korean financial companies. Meeting with Korean financial companies operating in Vietnam On September 6, Vice Chairman Kim So-young held a meeting with a group of Korean financial companies doing business in Vietnam and held talks on Vietnams financial industry and market trends, their business operations and challenging aspects. Total 15 companies attended the meeting in which they raised issues such as regulatory hurdles related to delay in licensing, lack of clarity in regulatory guidelines, etc. In this regard, Vice Chairman Kim said that the Korean government plans to boost support for financial companies business expansion and operations overseas and make efforts to strengthen cooperation with the local regulatory authority to help alleviate their operational difficulties. Fintech demo day in Ho Chi Minh City The FSC and the Fintech Center Korea hosted a fintech demo day in Ho Chi Minh City on September 6, which was the first fintech demonstration event held overseas since the easing of the pandemic. Total 11 fintech companies from both countries showcased innovative fintech services to an audience of about 100 participants. Vice Chairman Kim So-young delivered congratulatory remarks at the event, highlighting the importance of Vietnam as a crucial export destination and production base for many Korean companies and expressing his expectations for building a mutually beneficial and cooperative relationship and network between the fintech firms and financial institutions of both countrie
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Sep 06, 2023

FSC Vice Chairman Visits Indonesia to Bolster Export Financing Support and Strengthen Financial Cooperation

Vice Chairman Kim So-young of the Financial Services Commission visited Indonesia on September 4-5 on his weeklong trip to Southeast Asian countries to boost financial cooperation and promote export of Korean financial infrastructure models. Korea-Indonesia Financial Cooperation Forum On September 4, Vice Chairman Kim attended the Korea-Indonesia Financial Cooperation Forum hosted by Indonesias Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Koreas Council on International Financial Cooperation (CIFC). The forum dealt with issues on sustainable finance in both countries and ways to strengthen financial cooperation. In his congratulatory remarks, Vice Chairman Kim highlighted how both countries have been able to maintain close cooperative relationship with each other, and said that the Korean government will continue to make effort to support Korean financial companies to pursue mutually beneficial and sustainable business activities in Indonesia while sharing the experience and know-hows on financial innovation and digital transformation. Meeting with Deputy Chairman of Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) In a meeting with Deputy Chairman Mirza Adityaswara of Indonesias Financial Services Authority, Vice Chairman Kim shared concerns about some of the local regulatory hurdles experienced by Korean financial companies operating their business in Indonesia. Vice Chairman Kim said that Korean financial companies are equipped with the experience and know-hows in successfully supporting the growth of the real economy and leading digital transformation of financial services. Therefore, Vice Chairman Kim said that, together with Indonesias high growth potential, they can achieve a significant synergy in Indonesian markets. Export Finance Support Meeting with Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Kim visited Hyundai Motors factory in Indonesia and held talks on the recently announced export finance support for the suppliers and subcontractors in the auto industry. At the meeting, Vic
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Sep 05, 2023

Rules Change Proposed to Officially Introduce BCBS Large Exposure Limit on Banks

The Financial Services Commission proposed revisions to a set of rules on banks and financial holding companies on September 5, introducing the large exposure limit recommended by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) to help improve regulatory consistency with global standards and boost management over large-scale concentration risks. In 2014, the BCBS set out the supervisory framework for measuring and controlling large exposures and recommended its members to begin implementing the large exposure limit by January 2019. In Korea, the large exposure limit has been implemented through an administrative guidance since March 2019. However, a formal process to make this rule into an official regulatory framework has been postponed due to the coronavirus situation. BCBSs large exposure limit is currently adopted by sixteen countries including the U.S and the EU, and within this year, a regulatory consistency assessment program is expected to take place in Korea. In this regard, the revision proposal for the rules on banks and financial holding companies being announced for public comment today is similar to the banks and financial holding companies credit extension limit being observed under the current law in that it requires banks and financial holding companies to keep large exposures to a counterparty (or a group of affiliated counterparties) within 25 percent of their core capital (20 percent for D-SIBs). However, the revision proposal adopts a broader term for counterparties as it includes entities in both controlling relationship and economically dependent relationship. The revision proposal also incorporates a wider scope of credit exposures as it includes both credit extensions such as loans and financial products such as stocks and bonds as well as third-party guarantees. Thus, the revised rules will allow a more comprehensive and integrated way of managing counterparty credit risks. The authorities will grant a two-year grace period to the Korea D
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Aug 31, 2023

Enhanced Transparency and Investor Protection Measures on CFD Transactions to Take Effect from September

The Financial Services Commission announced that a set of improvements to the rules on contract for difference (CFD) trading will take effect from September 1. The improvement measures include (a) provision of more transparent investment information to investors, (b) resolving the issue of regulatory arbitrage vis--vis credit loans and (c) strengthening protection for retail investors. First, from September 1, information about the actual investor type (individual, institution or foreign investor) will be displayed and provided on Korea Exchange (KRX)s trade data system (data.krx.co.kr) for CFD transactions. In addition, as in the case with credit loan balance, from September 1, CFD balances will be disclosed to enable the use of these data as a reference for investment. The overall CFD balance can be found on a website (freesis.kofia.or.kr) operated by the Korea Financial Investment Association. Meanwhile, information about CFD balances by item will be ready for viewing on HTS (home trading system) and MTS (mobile trading system) within September as each securities firm needs to finish up preparing relevant data network system. Second, there are stronger investor protection measures taking effect from September 1. As a new over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives investment requirement, for CFD transactions, retail investors need to be verified of having sufficient investment experience by securities firms. Retail investors need to show that they have maintained a monthly average balance of KRW300 million or more for one year or more within the past five years for transactions of equity stocks, derivatives products or highly complex derivatives-linked securities. In addition, retail investors applying to attain the status of a qualified professional investor will need to go through an in-person verification process (including video call) conducted by a securities firm. Third, CFD traders will need to deposit at least 40 percent of the amount of CFD trading as a requireme
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Aug 30, 2023

2023 Korea Fintech Week Begins

Koreas annual global fintech expo, 2023 Korea Fintech Week, will be held for three days from August 30 to September 1 with domestic fintech firms, financial companies, relevant organizations and foreign governments and institutions joining at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul. The three-day (Aug 30 to Sep 1) fintech expo this year is the largest ever in its scale featuring a variety of exhibition halls as well as seminars and educational and experiential programs under the theme of the new wave of fintech. During the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman Kim So-young of the Financial Services Commission delivered welcoming remarks in which he emphasized the need to revitalize the fintech industry to propel innovation and continuous growth of the fintech industry. In this regard, Vice Chairman Kim laid out three key policy directions to support the fintech industry. First, the government will strengthen support for fintech firms business expansion to overseas markets. Second, the government will facilitate more cooperation between financial companies and fintech businesses. Third, the government will reform fintech regulations to make them more reasonable to ensure that fintech businesses are able to take advantage of new technologies and drive innovation. At the same time, Vice Chairman Kim said that the government will directly engage and communicate with fintech enterprises and make sure that a variety of assistance is available on the ground so that our fintech industry can continue to grow amid digital transformation. Following the opening ceremony, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing event was held between financial companies, big tech platform businesses and Korea Growth Investment Corporation for establishing a second batch of fintech innovation fund in the amount of KRW500 billion for four years (2024-2027). After the opening ceremony featuring speeches by notable dignitaries, a policy briefing session is scheduled to be held during which visitors can
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Aug 29, 2023

FSC Announces Current Status in Effort to Soft-land Loan Forbearance Measures for SMEs and Small Merchants

The Financial Services Commission announced current situation regarding the effort to soft-land the loan forbearance measures put in place for SMEs and small merchants that have been hit by COVID-19 on August 29. The maturity extension and payment deferment programs introduced in April 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have been extended for six months each time until now, and the loan forbearance programs are currently operating under the 5th extension plan announced in September 2022. Key details of the support measures under the 5th extension plan are as follows. First, borrowers on the maturity extension program can continue to get support in accordance with their current loan maturity structure (for six months or one year) until September 2025 without worrying about whether they will still be eligible for support. Second, borrowers on the payment deferment program can get support until September 2023, and they will draw up their debt payment plans in consultation with lending institutions. In accordance with their debt service plans, these borrowers will be able to spread out making payments for both principal and interests for up to 60 months (five years) until September 2028. A maximum one year of grace period can be granted on the amount of deferred interest payments. The number of borrowers as well as the total amount of outstanding loan balance subject to the maturity extension and payment deferment programs has been declining steadily. At the end of September 2022, there were about 430,000 borrowers with some KRW100 trillion in loan balance on the programs, but the numbers declined to 390,000 borrowers with KRW85 trillion by the end of March 2023 and KRW350,000 borrowers with KRW76 trillion by the end of June 2023. Compared to September 2022, by June 2023, there were about 80,000 less borrowers using the programs with a drop of about KRW24 trillion in the amount of loan balance, showing a drop of 20 percent and 24 percent, respectively. About KRW1
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