Hong Kong, October 15, 2012 -- Moody's Investors Service says that Korean banks are now more resilient
against foreign currency liquidity stress than they were during the global
financial crisis in 2008-2009.
"The Korean banking system remains vulnerable to foreign currency funding
risks because the banks still have a structural reliance on wholesale
funding, but they have also made clear improvements that mitigate
the risk," says Youngil Choi, a Moody's Vice President and
Senior Credit Officer.
Choi was speaking on the release of a report titled "Korean Banks:
More Resilient to Foreign Currency Liquidity Risks".
The report discusses the key measures that Korean banks have taken since
2009 to improve their foreign currency funding and liquidity profiles,
including: (1) terming out their debt maturities, (2) diversifying
their sources of debt, and (3) increasing the size of their liquidity
buffers.
"The main drivers of the improvements in liquidity have been tighter
regulations, increased government oversight and better market conditions,
which have given Korean banks ready access to term financing in multiple
currencies," adds Choi.
The Moody's report notes that Korean banks have improved their debt
maturity profiles as they have been able to refinance short-term
debt with long-term debt. For example, Moody's
survey of the seven largest banks shows that the ratio of their short-term
foreign currency debt to total foreign currency debt improved to 51%
at end-June 2012 from 56% at end-2011.
These banks have also diversified their foreign currency debt structures
in terms of currency. The proportion of their foreign currency
debt in currencies other than USD, euro and yen increased to 15.6%
in 1H2012 from 11.2% at end-2009. By contrast,
their euro-denominated debt fell to 5.5% from 11.2%
over the same period.
Korean banks have further boosted their liquidity buffers --
including foreign currency cash and deposit assets -- to
mitigate against possible refinancing risks related to any potential disruption
in the international capital markets.
"We also believe the government's demonstrated willingness,
as well as its improved capacity, to support the banks has added
a buffer that protects their credit profiles against extreme scenarios,"
says Choi.
Korea's external liabilities, with short-term original
maturities -- as a proportion of its total foreign currency
reserves -- improved to 46.5% at end-June
2012, from 79.3% at end-September 2008.
Subscribers can access this report via this link: http://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_146063.
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Young Il Choi
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
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MD - Financial Institutions
Financial Institutions Group
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Moody's: Korean banks more resilient to foreign currency liquidity risks