Woori to re-enter brokerage business with acquisition of Korea Foss Securities koreaherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from koreaherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Woori Financial Group has officially declared its bid to acquire a brokerage, a move to fortify its non-banking sector and offset a significant dent in profit last year, market watchers said Wednesday.
Woori Financial Group is actively considering the acquisition of local online brokerage firm Korea Foss Securities, in a move to add a missing puzzle piece a securities arm as a leading banking giant. "We are reviewing all potential companies (for acquisition) to make inroads into the (securities) industry, with the brokerage mentioned among them," the group's Chief Financial Operator Lee Sung-wo.
Local brokerages are found to be making huge profits of hundreds of billions of won by offering credit loans to customers. According to Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) data submitted to independent lawmaker Yang Jung-suk, 29 brokerages obtained loans from the Korea Securities Finance Corp. (KSFC) at 3.02 percent interest, as of the end of September.