Two Korean lenders, Hana Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea IBK, are planning to issue US dollar bonds in the near future, and are likely to make use of state-backing in order to reduce their funding costs.
Hana Bank, Korea's fourth biggest lender, said in an email to local media that it might issue $500 million in three-year global bonds backed by a government guarantee. It will be the first Korean bank to use the facility, for which it will have to pay a fee.
In October, the government announced a package of foreign currency payment guarantees for domestic banks worth $100 billion to help stabilise the volatile financial markets...