Securities Firms' Investor Deposit Interest Rates, Easier to Compare

Financial Supervisory Service Announces Strengthening of Comparative Disclosure Next Year

Starting next year, it will be easier to compare the usage fee rates by deposit type and amount for each securities company.

On the 26th, the Financial Supervisory Service announced that the disclosure of deposit usage fee rates will be strengthened in line with the establishment of the model guidelines for calculating investor deposit usage fee rates last October. In this regard, the Korea Financial Investment Association plans to disclose the investor deposit usage fee rates by securities company for the fourth quarter of this year during the first week of January next year.

Investor deposits generally refer to the cash remaining in an investor's securities account. Securities companies invest this amount and pay investors the remaining amount after deducting the costs related to the deposits from the operating profits earned, which is called the investor deposit usage fee.

According to the revised disclosure content, the previously inconsistent disclosure of deposit usage fee rates by securities companies will now be detailed by deposit type (consignor, on-exchange derivatives, collective investment) and by amount (300,000 KRW, 500,000 KRW, 1,000,000 KRW, etc.). This allows investors to clearly compare the differences in usage fee rates among securities companies.

Additionally, disclosures will now include previously undisclosed information such as trends in usage fee rate changes, securities companies' operating profit rates, and the differences between operating profit rates and usage fee rates.

Along with this, to help investors better understand the calculation method of deposit usage fees, the Korea Financial Investment Association will establish a related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section in the deposit usage fee rate disclosure system.

A Financial Supervisory Service official explained, “This will promote voluntary competition among securities companies regarding deposit usage fee rates, thereby enhancing investors' choice.”

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