South Korea Considers Banning Unlicensed Foreign Investment Banks from Arranging Global Bond Deals

According to sources, South Korea is drafting regulatory rules to prohibit investment banks without local securities licenses from arranging bond issuances for Korean entities abroad. Documents seen by media indicate that the Ministry of Economy and Finance has sought industry feedback on the new regulations from the Financial Investment Association, which distributed a survey last week. The ministry stated that the government aims to address regulatory gaps allowing unlicensed banks to operate domestically and align regulations with international standards. Sources added that regulators are concerned current rules unfairly disadvantage fully licensed institutions, which must bear local operating costs while unlicensed foreign counterparts do not. Data shows that South Korean issuers' offshore bond issuance volume surged 31% year-on-year this year, reaching $65.6 billion. (Sina Finance)