South Korea

The 31st annual Asiamoney Brokers Poll invited chief investment officers, fund managers and investment analysts to take part. Voters represented fund management houses, hedge fund & private equity firms, insurance companies and wealth management houses in Asia, Europe and North America.

Korea Investment & Securities

New banking rules have blown the competition wide open in South Korea, allowing banks to piggy-back off each other’s client relationships by offering a better mobile app.

South Korea’s banks are looking overseas for opportunities and faster profit growth now that their domestic market no longer offers the revenues and excitement it once did.

The last year has been an interesting one for small and medium-sized enterprises in South Korea. According to the government, SMEs account for 99% of the country’s businesses, 88% of its total employment, 38% of exports and 51% of added value. In 2018, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission announced that new rules governing loan-to-deposit ratios would go into effect at the start of 2020 for the country’s banks, encouraging more lending to small businesses. With such support, SME banking has boomed.

As traditional banks compete to lead the way in digital banking, one internet-only bank has stood out for its innovation, its presence in the market and its offerings to customers: kakaobank.

Korea’s saturated market means tough competition for both the established domestic banks as well as for international banks seeking a toehold. Of the foreign banks that have succeeded in cracking the market, Citi has gone the furthest, building on more than 30 years of banking experience in Korea to operate a popular commercial bank, in addition to a wealth management business and an investment bank.

KB Financial Group is not only one of the biggest investment banks in Korea, it is also the top player across the board. It ranks fourth among domestic investment banks, according to Dealogic, with a market share of 4%.