Hana Bank strikes a $50 million won swap in London in a first for a Korean bank
The won-denominated deal with an undisclosed overseas bank is part of Hana's efforts to expand its business in London.
Hana Bank Chairman Ham Young-joo speaks during an event for customers at the bank’s headquarters in central Seoul on July 9.
NEWS1
Hana Bank said Friday it struck a $50 million won-denominated swap transaction in London with a foreign bank, marking the first such transaction by a Korean bank.
It marked the first time Hana Bank directly supplied liquidity to meet overseas demand for won-denominated swap transactions through its London funding center, Hana Infinity.
Both Hana Infinity and the unidentified overseas bank on the other end of the transaction are registered as Registered Foreign Institutions (RFI).
RFIs are overseas financial institutions registered with Korea’s Ministry of Finance and Economy to participate directly in the country’s foreign-exchange market. The system was introduced in 2023 to broaden overseas financial institutions’ access to won-denominated transactions.
Hana Bank opened Hana Infinity in July 2024 and has since worked to expand won-denominated transactions, processing around 4,000 deals annually, it said.
In April, it became the first Korean commercial bank to join SwapAgent, a platform operated by the London Stock Exchange Group, as part of efforts to build infrastructure for expanding global derivatives trading.
Hana Bank plans to expand its London operations beyond won remittances and foreign-exchange services to include sales of won-denominated government bonds, Korean equities and derivatives in a bid to improve overseas investors’ access to Korea’s financial markets. The bank further aims to develop London into a key global hub for its won and Korean financial products business.
BY JIN MIN-JI [[email protected]]
