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May 13, 2021
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May 12, 2021
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May 12, 2021
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May 11, 2021
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May 10, 2021
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May 10, 2021
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May 06, 2021
- Adjustments Made to the Corporate Bond and CP Purchase Program for Low-rated Companies
- The FSC and the state-backed financial institutions announced that they will bolster support for low-rated companies through the pandemic-related support measures already put in place last year, which include a special purpose vehicle (SPV) aimed at purchasing low-rated corporate bonds and CP, primary collateralized bond obligations (P-CBOs) and the corporate bond and CP refinancing support program. In response to the spread of market anxieties in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government launched the corporate bond and CP market support programs covering businesses with credit ratings ranging from AA or above to A to BB. As a result, the corporate bond and CP markets have been stable thus far. However, there have been rising concerns about credit downgrades, limited support available through P-CBOs and the redundancy in the utility of some of the programs. As such, the authorities will make following adjustments to the programs to bolster support for SMEs. Key Measures (Support for low-rated businesses) First, more flexible eligibility requirements will be applied to low-rated companies. For the so-called fallen angels whose credit rating has declined after the announcement was made on the governments plan to operate an SPV on April 22, 2020, the provision of support will continue to be available for BB rated companies. For companies facing the risk of credit downgrades, state-backed financial institutions will provide comprehensive consulting services on their management status, financial structure, etc. (Temporary expansion of P-CBO support) First, individual companies sales cap will be expanded for SMEs that have seen their sales drop fifty percent or more and for low-rated (BB ratings) SMEs. The current standard of measuring their sales performance that is based on the estimated sales expected for the upcoming year will be changed to an arithmetic mean from the past three years. The sales cap on low-rated SMEs will also be expanded based on their fields
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May 06, 2021
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May 06, 2021
- Financial Authorities to Improve Rules on the Suspension of Licensing Review Process
- The financial authorities introduced the measures to improve rules on the suspension of licensing review process for financial institutions. The measures are intended to increase predictability and minimize legal uncertainties for businesses. The rules on the suspension of licensing review process have been introduced to prevent the granting of license to legally disqualified entities that may be undergoing an investigation or lawsuit at the time of their licensing review process. Under the rules, financial authorities may decide to suspend the licensing review process (a) if the applicant is facing a criminal charge or under an investigation or inspection by a relevant authority and (b) if the lawsuit or the investigation or inspection is deemed to have significant impact on the licensing review process. However, there have been criticisms regarding the current system as it serves a contradictory purpose to the principle of presumption of innocence, leads to unnecessary breach of rights and interests on the part of the applicant, impedes the level of predictability for resumption of the review process and raises the issue of inconsistency in terms of the application of the rules across different sectors. As such, the FSC will carry out the following measures to make improvements to the current suspension of licensing review process. Key Measures First, the authorities will newly establish a guideline that provides a specific and detailed list of grounds and reasons for suspending a licensing review process. Second, for business entities whose licensing review process has been suspended, the authorities will reconsider every six months the possibility of resuming the licensing review process and whether to extend the suspension period. Third, the suspension of licensing review process, which is currently not applicable to insurance businesses, specialized credit finance companies and financial holding companies, will be applied across all financial sectors to enhanc
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May 03, 2021
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May 03, 2021
- Authorities Introduce Measures to Strengthen Oversight on Quasi-investment Advisory Businesses
- The financial authorities held the 3rd taskforce meeting on the prevention of unlawful and unfair trading activities in stock markets on April 30 and reviewed progress in the implementation of various measures. At the meeting, the authorities introduced and decided on the measures to strengthen management and supervision on the quasi-investment advisory businesses. The measures are aimed at (a) preventing quasi-investment advisory businesses from engaging in unauthorized business activities, (b) strengthening management from the time of their business registration to operation and exit and (c) bolstering detection of illegal activities using social media chatrooms, etc. Background A quasi-investment advisory business provides investment advisory services to an unspecified number of individuals. There are no particular entry requirements for these businesses as they are only required to register with the authority.With the goal of preventing damages to investors, the government has been working on regulatory improvements. Since September last year, the FSS has conducted inspections on 351 entities and detected a total of 54 cases where illegal activities are suspected. As the sales practice of quasi-investment advisory businesses has shifted to online spaces such as social media chatrooms and Youtube, the number of investor complaints being filed has also increased.Based on false or exaggerated promises of investment returns, investors are lured into paying high fees, inflicting financial damages to investors. As such, the financial authorities along with private sector experts have set up a taskforce and prepared the following measures to strengthen oversight on quasi-investment advisory businesses. Key Measures I. Root out unauthorized business activities - Strengthen public awareness on unlawful activities: The authorities will strengthen efforts to better inform investors about the typical types of illegal activities, including stock advisory social media chatroo
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Apr 29, 2021
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Apr 29, 2021
- Government Announces Household Debt Management Plan for 2021-2023
- The government announced the household debt management plan for 2021-2023 on April 29. The plan is aimed at (i) managing the growth rate of gross household debt at stable levels for the mid- to long-term and (ii) establishing lending practices based on individual borrowers repayment capability. Background Household debt growth remained stable from 2017 to 2019 as the government was able to implement a consistent policy for household debt management. However, due to expansionary fiscal and monetary policies put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the household debt growth rate accelerated in 2020.In this year, the growth rate has slowed down somewhat since the government announced a series of policy measures to tighten mortgage regulations and boost housing supply. However, the household debt level still remains high even though credit loans which was a dominant factor in the last years household debt growth in the second half appears to have come down to a stable level. Koreas household debt has been regarded as one of the potential sources of financial risk, given its relatively high ratio against GDP and fast pace of growth compared with major economies. However, the increase in private sector debt in response to COVID-19, which is a common phenomenon, has been inevitable to some extent. In addition, due to the governments efforts at improving the structural soundness of household debt, it is unlikely that household debt turns into a systemic risk in the short-term. Against this backdrop, the government intends to preemptively manage household debt from a macroprudential perspective to prevent it from turning into potential risk factors. Regulatory adjustments at a micro level are also needed to ensure that a tightening of mortgage regulations do not curtail first-time homebuyers access to mortgages. The current regulation of loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, uniformly applied across all homebuyers, has limited opportunities for first-time homebuyers. Moreover
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Apr 28, 2021
- Open Banking Services Available from Savings Banks
- The FSC announced the availability of open banking services from savings banks from April 29, 2021. From next month, credit card companies are also expected to join open banking services. Since its first launch in December 2019, open banking in Korea has become widespread with the cumulative number of subscription reaching about 76.6 million with more than 138.5 million accounts registered as of April 25, 2021. In order to promote further development of open banking, the FSCannouncedmeasures to expand participating institutions at the 3rd digital finance meeting held on October 21, 2020.As a result, about one hundred banks, fintechs, mutual finance companies and securities firms have joined and are providing open banking services as of April 25, 2021. From April 29, seventy-three savings banks will also begin to provide open banking services through their mobile apps or websites with six other savings banks expected to join as soon as they finish developing IT systems. With open banking becoming available from savings banks, open banking is now provided by all deposit-taking financial institutions. As such, it is expected to further enhance user experience and consumer convenience. In this regard, growing competition between financial institutions is also expected to contribute to their overall digital competitiveness. The FSC will continue to promote innovation in the financial industry and work to expand open banking to credit card companies from the end of May this year. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 27, 2021
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Apr 26, 2021
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Apr 26, 2021
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Apr 22, 2021
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Apr 20, 2021
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Apr 19, 2021
- Improved Securities Lending System for Retail Investors to Come into Place from May 3
- The FSC announced that the improvements made to the securities lending system for retail investors will come into place from May 3, 2021. From May 3, seventeen securities firms will begin to provide stock lending services in the amount of about KRW2 trillion to KRW3 trillion. Retail investors wishing to participate in stock short selling are required to complete pre-learning and mock trading programs which will be available from April 20. Based on the level of experience of individual investors, the maximum investment amount allowed for short selling will be differentially applied. Key Details Retail investors access to stock short selling has been limited as a shortage in securities lending led to the decline in the demand for stock borrowing and number of securities firms offering such service. As of the end of February 2020, securities lending services were available from only six securities firmsin the amount of about KRW20.5 billion. In order to improve retail investors access to stock short selling, the FSC and financial investment businesses will begin to offer more opportunities for stock borrowing. A total of twenty-eight securities companies will provide securities lending services. However, as these companies have different schedules for completing the development of their IT system, from May 3, stock lending service will be available from seventeen securities firms first with the rest expected to join within this year. As such, it is expected that a total of KRW2.4 trillion in stock lending will become available for KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 stocks on May 3.For retail investors, a maximum of sixty days of stock borrowing period is guaranteed unlike institutional or foreign investors. Safeguards and Regulations for Retail Investors The following safeguards have been put in place to bolster investor protection against excessive loss. First, investors should have securities lending agreements with their trading firms and those without an existing account nee
