Woori Bank OKs plan for holding company

SEOUL, June 19 (Yonhap) -- Woori Bank, a major South Korean lender, said Tuesday that its board of directors has approved a plan to turn itself into a holding company in a move to strengthen its competitiveness.

The board said the holding company is scheduled to be created early next year in a comprehensive transfer of stocks following a shareholders' meeting in December.

Woori Bank and five other companies will become affiliates of the holding company.

Still, Woori Bank said the holding company will decide whether to put Woori Card and Woori Investment Bank under its holding company structure.

The proposed transformation is meant to boost competitiveness as a financial group.

Woori Bank is still 18.5 percent owned by the government after repeated attempts to privatize it. Woori is South Korea's sole commercial bank that doesn't have a holding company structure, previous attempts to sell the government's stake having been foiled.

The government said last month it will sell off its stake in Woori after the bank becomes a holding company.

Woori officials said the holding company will get listed on the country's main bourse on January 13.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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