FSC Slaps Banks with Record Hong Kong ELS Fines
Banks and brokerages that sold Hong Kong H-Index Equity-Linked Securities (ELS) without sufficient explanation have been slapped with penalty surcharges in the 370 billion won (about $276 million) range. This marks the largest financial sanction ever imposed by the Financial Services Commission (FSC
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has imposed record fines on banks and brokerages for the mis-selling of Hong Kong H-Index Equity-Linked Securities (ELS), totaling 370 billion won, or approximately $276 million. This marks the largest financial sanction ever imposed by the FSC. The penalty, initially calculated at 4 trillion won, was reduced to 10% following discussions.
The FSC found that the banks and brokerages violated the duty of explanation by omitting key information, such as yield simulations and the impact on financial consumers. The largest penalty surcharge was imposed on KB Kookmin Bank at 172.33 billion won, followed by Hana Bank at 92.47 billion won, NH Nonghyup Bank at 40.17 billion won, and Shinhan Bank at 38.74 billion won.
Among brokerages, Korea Investment & Securities received a penalty surcharge of 9.24 billion won. The Hong Kong H-Index ELS, which were sold through bank counters from 2021 to 2023, became problematic as massive losses were expected due to the index's decline. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) estimated the loss amount to be 4.6 trillion won out of the investment principal of approximately 10.4 trillion won.
Brief written by urgent.news from BusinessKorea's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
