Korea bank funding: financing the financers

Korean banks are among the most frequent — and the most respected — issuers in Asia. They come from a highly developed banking system and are able to offer investors strong risk controls, rock solid capital positions and a plethora of pricing benchmarks. But it is not without its problems. Revenue growth is anaemic, labour laws are restrictive and regulations on liquidity positions, while helping to reduce systemic risk, ensure that Korean banks struggle to match the profit margins of their rivals in the rest of the continent. It was in this context that EuroWeek sat down with a diverse range of key market players, including some of the biggest bond issuers from across Asia, to figure out what direction Korean banks are going in — and how they can make their journey there a smooth one.