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Sep 13, 2021
- FSC Plans to Make Fractional Trading of Domestic and Foreign Stocks More Widely Available
- The FSC announced its plans to make fractional trading of both domestic and foreign stocks more widely available to help improve access and convenience for investors. Background In 2019, the FSC allowed fractional trading of foreign stocks offered by Shinhan Investment and Korea Investment Securities by designating them as innovative financial services to be granted regulatory exemptions under its financial regulatory sandbox program. As a result, by the end of June 2021, the number of fractional stock traders at Shinhan Investment and Korea Investment Securities reached about 140,000 and 510,000, respectively, with their investment amounts standing at KRW270 million and KRW750 million each. However, fractional trading of domestic stocks remained unavailable due to the principle of indivisibility of shares as well as the non-fractional share-based design with which the domestic securities trading and depository infrastructures was set up. To help improve investor access and convenience, the FSC plans to make improvements to the current fractional trading system and make fractional trading of both domestic and foreign stocks available. Key Details Unlike the current system where individual securities firms have to apply for regulatory exemptions to provide fractional trading services, the new system will be based on a special infrastructure set up at Korea Securities Depository (KSD) that is dedicated to fractional trading and can be accessed and used by any securities firms that wish to offer fractional trading services to their customers. This will strengthen the safety and convenience of fractional trading in both domestic and foreign stocks. (Foreign Stocks) Stock trading in fractional shares of foreign stocks will be directly recorded in the securities firms account books. KSD will maintain separate account books on fraction trades and regularly check their consistency with those of securities firms. Investors will be able to trade in fractional shares of foreig
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Sep 10, 2021
- FSC Chairman Meets with Heads of Major Financial Holding Companies
- FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom met with the heads of major financial holding companies on September 10 and held talks on ways to strengthen household debt management as well as the issue of loan maturity extensions and payment deferrals. As it was the first time that Chairman Koh has held a meeting with the five CEOs of financial holding companies in his current role, at the beginning of the meeting, Chairman Koh laid out his principle of financial policy and supervisory role of the FSC as aiming for market-friendly policy and supervision with respect for the creativity and autonomy of financial institutions. With regard to the matters concerning internal management of individual institutions, such as interest rates, fees and dividends, Chairman Koh stated that he will respect individual firms decisions. Even when intervention is inevitable for the purpose of maintaining macroeconomic soundness and consumer protection, Chairman Koh said that interventions will take place at a minimum level through a fair and transparent procedure in a market-friendly and market-centered approach based on sufficient communication and collaboration with market participants. On the issue of household debt growth, Chairman Koh raised concerns about asset market overheating and the mutually reinforcing effects between the two. Chairman Koh spoke about household debt management as a top policy priority and pledged to effectively implement the measures in place while working to come up with improved measures. With regard to the loan maturity extensions and payment deferrals set to expire at the end of September, Chairman Koh said that the authorities are considering diverse factors, such as the demand from SMEs and small merchants, repayment burdens of long-term borrowers, potential default risks and so on, while emphasizing the importance of cooperation to arrive at a reasonable solution. Chairman Koh and the five CEOs also held talks on regulatory issues surrounding digital transformation an
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Sep 09, 2021
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Sep 09, 2021
- FSC Announces 10% Stake in Woori Financial Group to be Sold
- The FSC announced its plan to sell ten percent of the remaining stake (15.13%) held by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation in Woori Financial Group through competitive bidding. Background With the goal of complete privatization of WFG, the government has been selling KDICs stake in WFG through a series of block sales and competitive auctions over the years. The sales allowed the government to recoup about 89.6 percent of public funds and afforded WFG with management autonomy as its MOU with the KDIC has been retracted in 2016. The KDICs sale of 29.7 percent stake in December 2016 further accelerated WFGs privatization process. However, as the KDIC still maintained the largest shareholder status, the Public Fund Oversight Committee announced the roadmap for selling remaining stake in WFG in June 2019. Thereafter, the KDIC sold two percent of its remaining stake through a block sale on April 9, 2021. After assessing market demand, on August 23, the PFOC decided to sell up to ten percent of KDICs remaining stake in WFG through competitive bidding. Details Ten percent of shares will be put up for sale with minimum bidding of one percent through a competitive auction with highest bidders winning the auction. However, when no workable competition is established or the bidding price is below the PFOC set price, the sales method may change to a block sale. Investors who newly acquire four percent or more of stake are granted right to recommend an outside director to the board. Successful sales of KDICs stake in WFG at this round may lead to the completion of the privatization process of WFG in essence, since the KDIC may no longer be the largest shareholder with its right to recommend an outside director also taken away. Schedule With the sales notice announced on September 9, letters of intent (LoIs) will be due on October 8 and the bidding will close and winning bidders selected in November. * Please refer to the attache PDF for details.
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Sep 09, 2021
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Sep 09, 2021
- FSC Chairman Holds Talks with SME and Small Merchant Groups
- FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom met with the heads of the Korea Federation of SMEs and other relevant industry groups representing small merchants on September 9 and held talks on the coronavirus support measures. The following is a summary of Chairman Kohs remarks. The Korean economy has undergone major changes since the coronavirus outbreak began in February last year. In response to COVID-19, the government rolled out KRW175 trillion-plus stimulus programs to overcome the crisis. To support SMEs and small merchants, ultra-low rate loans and special guarantees were provided. Along this line, maturity extensions on existing loans and deferments on interest and principal payments became available through all financial sectors. Following concerns over possible credit rating downgrades and deteriorating lending conditions, the authorities urged all financial sectors to take into account individual businesses recovery prospects when assessing their credit standing for loans. Due to these measures, the liquidity risks of SMEs and small merchants have come down in large parts with improvements also shown in terms of their credit standings. The economy and financial markets now show signs of stability backed by active response from the government and efforts by businesses. However, SMEs and small merchants in contact-intensive sectors, such as restaurants, hospitality, tourism and wholesale and retail, continue to face difficult situations, especially with growing numbers of newly infected cases from July. With regard to the possibility of providing another extension on loan maturity extensions and payment deferrals, which have been extended twice for a six-month period each, the authorities will work to come up with optimal measures as soon as possible while considering the coronavirus situation, conditions of the real economy and comments from the financial sectors. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Sep 08, 2021
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Sep 08, 2021
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Sep 08, 2021
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Sep 08, 2021
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Sep 08, 2021
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Sep 06, 2021
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Sep 03, 2021
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Aug 26, 2021
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Aug 25, 2021
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Aug 16, 2021
- Authorities Provide Consulting to VASPs and Advise Supplementary Actions Prior to Registration
- As a follow-up to the governments plan to enhance supervision on virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and their transaction activities,the FSC and relevant institutions provided on-site consulting to the 25 VASPs between June 15 and July 16 and advised them to take supplementary measures prior to their business registration. Out of the 33 VASPs that have already obtained the ISMS certification or are in the pending status, a total of 25 entities showed interest in receiving consulting from the authorities.As such, the FSC along with other relevant institutions provided on-site consulting to the 25 VASPs to review their preparation for business registration and check the level of stability in their transactions system. Key Details (Preparation for Registration) Pursuant to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (the Act hereinafter), VASPs should file necessary documents for registration until September 24 and adhere to AML duties from the time of their registration. As such, VASPs should have their own internal procedures, human resources and facilities ready to implement the AML requirements at the time of registration. When consulting was provided, no VASPs were found to have met all the registration requirements, and they have shown inadequate levels of preparedness for the implementation of the AML duties and other requirements set forth by the Act. Out of the 25 VASPs, 19 entities have obtained ISMS certification, but only four VASPs were found to have their business operation with real-name verified accounts. The VASPs that have obtained ISMS certification but have no real-name accounts may still apply for business registration but for the category that is barred from offering exchange services between virtual assets and a fiat currency. With regard to the level of preparedness in adhering to the AML requirements, the lack of employees overseeing this matter and insufficient system preparation for suspicious transactions
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Aug 11, 2021
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Aug 11, 2021
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Aug 10, 2021
- FSC Chairman Discusses Balance between COVID-19 Support and Preemptive Risk Management
- FSC Chairman Eun Sung-soo met with the heads of five financial holding groups on August 10 and held talks on creating quality jobs for young adults in financial sectors, managing household debt levels and maintaining COVID-19 financial support. (Creating Job Opportunities for Young Adults) Chairman Eun stated that a rapid transition to a digital economy may lead to diminishing job opportunities for young adults. However, the growth of fintechs is contributing to the creation of new jobs. As such, financial institutions should work to create quality jobs that are desirable for young adults, especially with this years joint job fair in financial sectors scheduled to be held in next month. (Household Debt Management) In the process of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, a growth in private sector debt level has been unavoidable. In this regard, it is time to focus on risk management as the pace of the growth has been accelerating. In order to control the pace of growth at an appropriate level (5 to 6% for this year), the financial authorities are working on strengthening supervision. As such, financial institutions should work on preemptive management to help prevent excessive debt levels turning into potential risks for the economy and financial sectors. (COVID-19 Financial Support) Over the past year, financial institutions made available KRW204 trillionworth of financial support for SMEs and small merchants in the form of maturity extensions and payment deferrals. The authorities are closely looking at the upside and downside effects of extending these support programs and making them available for longer. In the process, the authorities will maintain close communication with financial sectors. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Aug 04, 2021
