은행 설립 제도의 법ㆍ제도적인 개선 방향

Abstract

A bank entry system in a country is a very important issue in respect of enhancement of competitiveness of a bank industry, which will affect the financial industry and system overall. In Korea, a bank entry is regulated by the Financial Services Commission (the "FSC"), the regulatory and policy-making authority in Korea. In other words, a person who intends to establish a bank requires authorization from the FSC, satisfying certain requirements prescribed by the Bank Act and the regulations thereof. In respect of the authorization procedure, an authorization is divided into two steps: preliminary authorization and final authorization. This article seeks to analyze certain legal issues in relation to such a bank entry system and to suggest some improvement measures. First, under the current relevant law and regulations, it is unclear who would be an applicant in applying for the authorization. There are three divided arguments: (i) a company to become a bank, (ii) a representative promoter in a bank, or (iii) the largest shareholder of a bank. Among those arguments, a company to become a bank is regarded as an appropriate applicant under the current law and regulations, although the other methods have some reasonable grounds, too. Second, there is no clear definition for clarifying the difference between a nationwide bank and a regional bank under the relevant law and regulations, which needs to be rectified. Third, there is no provision in respect of the procedure for a regional bank to be converted into a nationwide bank; so a new procedure for changing the authorization needs to be added. Fourth, the current authorization requirements applicable to the conversion into a bank from a non-bank financial institution, such as a securities company and a mutual savings bank, should be reviewed for clarification. In relation to the prospects of and tasks for improvement of the bank entry system, this article strongly argues for taking the policy to pursue deregulation of the bank entry system in order to enhance the competitiveness of the bank industry in Korea. In addition, the transparency in the authorization requirements and the simplification of the documents to be submitted to the FSC need to be implemented. Finally, this article suggests the introduction of an internet primary bank as one of the policy for the deregulation of the bank entry system and makes a legal analysis of plausible problems in such an introduction.