NSP NEWS

Internet-only bank Kbank announced its goal to expand to include corporate loans to small and medium-sized businesses by 2027, along with the launch of a second-lien refinancing product for real estate-secured loans for individual business owners.

Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Committee has decided to cut the base rate by 0.25 percentage points—from 3.0% to 2.75%—bringing it into the 2% range for the first time in 2 years and 4 months since October 2020.

Foreign currency deposits increased by $2.14 billion(KRW 3.5378 trillion) last month due to political instability caused by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and the aftermath of the impeachment in South Korea.

South Korea recorded a current account surplus of $99.04 billion in 2024, marking the second-largest surplus in the country’s history.

LG CNS, a leading AX (AI Transformation) company, garnered significant interest from general investors during its public offering subscription held on January 21 and 22, collecting deposits exceeding KRW 21 trillion.

The Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Committee kept the key interest rate unchanged at 3.0% in the first meeting of 2025.

At the end of last year, household loans from the five major commercial banks increased by nearly KRW 800 billion, while corporate loans decreased by nearly KRW 9 trillion.

Last month, foreign investment in domestic securities saw a net outflow of $2.14 billion.

Due to rising oil prices, the consumer price inflation rate last month was 1.5%, up 0.27%p from the previous month.

On the 28th, the Bank of Korea announced in a statement on its “monetary policy direction” that “the Bank of Korea has decided to operate monetary policy by lowering the base rate from the current level of 3.25% to 3.0%.” The Bank of Korea explained that “although exchange rate volatility has expanded, downward pressure on growth has increased amid the continued stabilization of the inflation rate and the slowdown in household debt.” The so-called “Trump shock” was a major factor behind the decision.