Korea Fair Trade Commission fines firms for government bond auction collusion
What happened
The Korea Fair Trade Commission fined 15 domestic financial companies a total of 1.627 trillion won for colluding in government bond auctions. The investigation found that primary dealers shared information or coordinated bid yields across 145 auctions between January 2020 and June 2023 to unfairly lower yields. NH Investment & Securities was among the firms fined 242.79 billion won, and the regulator stated it would file complaints against seven financial firms, including NH Investment & Securities.
From morningstar.com
Why it matters
The regulator stated that the collusion nullified the competitive bidding system and caused losses to the national treasury by restricting fair competition. The combined fines imposed on the financial firms surpassed the previous record of 747.6 billion won.
The Fair Trade Commission had previously imposed surcharges on bond dealers.
From morningstar.com
Who's involved
- NH Investment & SecuritiesBrokerage firm fined for collusion in government bond auctions.
- Korea Fair Trade CommissionCompetition regulator that imposed the fines and plans to file complaints.
Who could feel it
Possible knock-on effectsThese are possibilities Brind reasoned out, not predictions, and not advice. Most are not stated in any report.
- NH Investment & SecuritiesSpeculative
NH Investment & Securities could face increased operating costs and reduced revenue due to the regulatory fine for bond auction collusion.
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The entities involved
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NH Investment & Securities
security firm in Korea
Nothing else this week.
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Korea Fair Trade Commission
competition regulator in South Korea