The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) fined 15 domestic financial firms a total of 1.627 trillion won (about $1.21bn) for colluding in Korean government bond auctions. The KFTC said a year-long probe found primary dealers — five banks and ten securities firms — shared information or coordinated bid yields and sizes in 145 auctions from Jan 2020 to Jun 2023, artificially suppressing yields and harming the treasury. Seven firms will be referred to prosecutors for criminal charges for longer or mo

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) fined 15 domestic financial firms a total of 1.627 trillion won (about $1.21bn) for colluding in Korean government bond auctions. The KFTC said a year-long probe found primary dealers — five banks and ten securities firms — shared information or coordinated bid yields and sizes in 145 auctions from Jan 2020 to Jun 2023, artificially suppressing yields and harming the treasury. Seven firms will be referred to prosecutors for criminal charges for longer or more frequent involvement; KB Securities, NH Investment & Securities and Mirae Asset Securities are among those facing prosecution and drew some of the largest fines.