President Ham Young-joo of KEB Hana Bank.

KEB Hana Bank is out to boost its global operation this year by setting up a financial headquarters in key financial centers around the world, including the U.S., Europe and southeast Asia, among others.

President Ham Young-joo announced on Dec. 30, 2018, that the bank will open a global financial headquarters in such key financial centers as New York, London, and Singapore this year and assign the headquarters managers to run each of the new financial centers for the bank.

The top manager for the bank said those cities already have the bank’s branch or office, but they will come under the responsibility of the new headquarters manager of the financial headquarters in those strategic financial centers. However, the main responsibility of the new headquarters will be to seek new business possibilities with local corporate customers.

Officials of the bank said managers of the headquarters will have their own authorization rights to approve loans and other matters without reporting to the head office for authorization to speed up the local operations.

The bank named a number of the headquarters managers in a personnel reshuffle conducted on Dec. 28, including Headquarters Manager Lee Jong-seung for the Asian Region to run the Singapore headquarters, and Headquarters Manager Kwon Ho-sang of the Europe and Middle East Region, has been named to head the London Headquarters.

The Global Business Headquarters in Seoul is working on the shape of the New York Headquarters with Headquarters Managers Lee Kwan-hyung set to take over the headquarters when it is officially set up in the 2nd half of this year.

As of the 3rd quarter, 2018, the bank managed to earn 300 billion won from overseas, which is projected to earn far more YoY when the 4th quarter earnings is added to the year’s total expected to exceed around 35 billion won.

Opening a bank account in Korea is pretty easy, despite what you may have heard. Korean banks don’t ask for or require a credit history nor do they do a credit check. In most cases, setting up an account can be done in one day, though in some cases it may take a bit longer.

Now Korvia has teamed-up with KEB Hana Bank, one of the leading banks that support expats in Korea, to help those looking to teach in South Korea open their bank accounts faster and more efficiently than ever. The Korvia team will support EPIK and GOE teachers in a new way so that you can fill out a bank account application form as soon as you arrive at the airport and Korvia office.

That way, people will be able to receive a bankbook and a debit card faster, because they’ll be sent directly to your school via registered mail. Furthermore, you customers have to wait for your ARC and get your Korean bank account and a debit card.

Teachers not connected to EPIK or GOE can also follow these steps and have a Korean bank account in your hands within one hour: The Korean banking system is the smartphone and Internet-friendly, and as part of this, you will need to create several IDs and passwords. It’s important to keep them organized.

A customer will be asked to create a User ID for Internet Banking that is 6 to 15 digits long in English letters, or a combination of letters and numbers. He or she will also need to choose both 4-digit and 6-digit PINs.

Separately, all expats need to fill out a FATCA/CRS Self-certification Form. As part of this, U.S. citizens must provide their social security number.

A building in Euljiro, Seoul, where the bank has its offices. (Photos: Hana Bank)