Woori Bank, Hana Bank, and Mirae Asset Agree to 100% Compensation for Lime Trade Finance Fund After Turbulence (Comprehensive)

Decision Made by the Board After About Two Months
Considering Consumer Protection and Management Stability

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] Woori Bank, Hana Bank, and Mirae Asset Daewoo have accepted the Financial Supervisory Service's (FSS) dispute mediation proposal for full principal compensation on the 'Lime Trade Finance Fund' investment.

According to the banking sector on the 27th, Woori Bank and others held a board meeting on the same day and resolved to adopt this policy.

A Woori Bank official explained, "The board meeting in July postponed the decision once to conduct a thorough legal review," adding, "We reaffirmed that this matter is significant for consumer protection, restoring trust, and stabilizing the financial market, and made this decision accordingly."

It is known that Woori Bank's board also judged that it was necessary to minimize management uncertainties amid expectations of slow domestic and international economic recovery in the second half of the year due to the recent resurgence of COVID-19.

A Hana Bank official said, "Despite ongoing legal procedures such as prosecution investigations and criminal trials related to this fund, we decided to accept the FSS Dispute Mediation Committee's proposal considering the need for prompt investor protection measures for customers."

The Hana Bank official also stated, "The FSS investigation revealed that asset management company Lime and swap securities firm Shinhan Financial Investment concealed the insolvency of the Lime Trade Finance Fund and sold it," adding, "Since criminal trials are underway on charges of fraud under criminal law, Hana Bank plans to actively pursue legal actions such as subrogation claims and damages claims against the related companies."

Mirae Asset Daewoo also held a board meeting on the same day and decided to accept the FSS mediation proposal. A Mirae Asset Daewoo official said, "After careful consideration with customer protection as the top priority, we plan to return the entire sales amount of 9.1 billion KRW to investors."

Full Investment Compensation, First Case of Dispute Mediation for Financial Investment Products

The FSS Dispute Mediation Committee passed a mediation proposal in June applying 'contract cancellation due to mistake,' ordering sellers to refund the full principal to investors of the Lime Asset Management Trade Finance Fund.

This is the first time in history that a '100% investment compensation plan' has been issued in dispute mediation involving financial investment products.

The FSS initially set a deadline of the 27th of last month for acceptance, but extended the deadline to this day at the request of sellers who needed more careful review.

The sales amounts of the Lime Trade Finance Fund are 65 billion KRW for Woori Bank, 36.4 billion KRW for Hana Bank, 42.5 billion KRW for Shinhan Financial Investment, and 9.1 billion KRW for Mirae Asset Daewoo.

Meanwhile, Hana Bank also prepared additional customer protection measures for the Discovery Fund and Italy Healthcare Fund through its board meeting on the same day.

Although losses for these funds have not been confirmed, the bank explained that as a customer protection measure, it will first provide a certain level of advance payment (50% for Discovery Fund, 70% for Italy Healthcare Fund) and settle the final amount when the funds are liquidated in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.