South Korea to compensate losses from derivatives linked to Chinese shares

SEOUL — The financial regulator on Monday unveiled a set of plans that advise banks and brokerages to compensate losses from derivative products tracking Chinese stocks listed on the Hong Kong exchange.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said its preliminary inspection, conducted for two months since January 8, has verified “various cases of incomplete sales” involving equity-linked securities (ELS) products tracking Hong Kong’s H Index, reports Yonhap news agency.

The outstanding value of such products stood at 18.8 trillion won ($14.2 billion) as of end-December, with 15.1 trillion won, or 80.5 percent of the total, set to be redeemed this year.

The products, if redeemed at end-February value, would post a combined loss of up to 5.8 trillion won, according to the FSS.

“The sellers had created an environment for incomplete sales by setting excessive sales targets during a period of growing risks of loss for consumers and promoting all-out sales efforts through inadequate performance indicators, while neglecting the sales cap designed to protect consumers,” it said in a press release.

“As a result of its inspection, (the government) has confirmed various cases of illegal and unfair practices, including incomplete sales,” it added.

Incomplete sales occur when financial institutions fail to provide all necessary information to consumers about products, including contract terms and associated risks. The financial regulator earlier said its inspection involved 12 local banks and brokerages.

The FSS said it will quickly start the dispute mediation process by holding dispute mediation committee meetings on representative cases, with the first of such meetings expected to be held next month.