South Korea regulator calls on banks to regain ‘trust and love’

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s financial regulator on Thursday called on the country’s banks to join efforts to make lenders “trusted and loved” while pushing ahead with its reform plans.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has said it would draw up measures to reform the banking sector by the end of June, including ways to bring in more competition and expand capital buffers against external shocks.

“Through these efforts, I think we will be able to firmly establish ourselves as a banking industry trusted and loved by the people and companies again,” said FSC Vice Chairman Kim So-young in a prepared speech for a meeting with executives of major banks.

He did not elaborate on how or when the banking sector lost public trust, but said the sector has not been sufficiently prepared for the future.

(Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Christopher Cushing)