South Korea to implement new global bank capital rules this month

KOREA SELATAN / KORSEL - SEOUL. South Korea will begin to implement new global bank capital rules this month, the country's financial regulator said Sunday (28/6), a move that could boost capital adequacy ratios of South Korean banks.

The banking regulations, known as Basel III, were agreed upon by financial regulators around the world in 2017.

The new rules, including revisions to calculation systems for capital requirements and credit risks, were set in the aftermath of the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

The Financial Services Commission said JB Financial Group, Kwangju Bank and Jeonbuk Bank will adopt the new banking regulations this month, while 17 other banks and financial groups, including Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and KB Kookmin Bank, will implement them by the end of this year.

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The commission said KEB Hana Bank, its parent Hana Financial Group and the Export-Import Bank of Korea will adopt the banking regulations next year.

The move will raise capital adequacy ratios of the South Korean banks and financial groups under the Bank for International Settlements' standard.

A key barometer of financial health, the capital adequacy ratio measures the proportion of a bank's total capital to its risk-weighted assets.

The Basel, Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements, an international organization of central banks, advises lenders to maintain a ratio of 8 percent or higher.