With NH Investment & Securities entering the race for approval as an integrated money account (IMA) operator, a total of three firms are now subject to review by the Financial Supervisory Service.
The Financial Supervisory Service said on the 30th that it is proceeding without a hitch with the designation of integrated investment firms and the review for issuing commercial paper.
The FSS announced in Apr. that it would roll out measures to enhance the competitiveness of corporate finance in the securities industry and approve the first IMA operator within this year. An IMA is a comprehensive financial service in which a securities firm pools individual clients' funds and manages them through a single account. The securities firm manages the pooled funds to generate revenue and provides the agreed-upon returns to clients. The approval requirement is a large investment firm with at least 8 trillion won in equity capital.
Korea Investment & Securities and Mirae Asset Securities, which met the equity capital requirement, submitted approval applications in Jul. NH Investment & Securities received a capital injection from its holding company last month to satisfy the equity capital requirement and said it would file its application by this month.
Five securities firms have also thrown their hats in the ring for approval to run an issuance-based short-term paper business. A total of five firms—Kiwoom Securities, Samsung Securities, Shinhan Securities, Meritz Securities, and Hana Securities—applied in Jul. for authorization for short-term financial business required for issuing commercial paper. The FSS is said to be conducting priority reviews on Kiwoom Securities and Hana Securities among them.
The FSS said, "We are proceeding without a hitch with reviews of the applicant companies," and added, "Depending on the level of preparation, we will sequentially carry out procedures required by regulations, such as the external evaluation committee and on-site inspections, and will strive to produce review results within the year if possible."