Kim said financial companies should try to minimise spill-over effects on retail customers as much as possible amid rising interest rates in financial markets.
Despite recent bank troubles in the United States and Europe, the local financial industry and markets have remained comparably stable, thanks to preemptive and coordinated efforts by the government, central bank and the industry, he added. The meeting was arranged because current monetary and fiscal policy and market conditions made it difficult to develop support measures for the vulnerable without help from financial companies, Kim told reporters after the meeting. Earlier this week, the government announced a package of measures to boost domestic consumer spending, at a time when the trade-reliant economy is sliding toward a recession amid a slump in exports. Kim also suggested the country would maintain strict restrictions on stock short-selling for some time by telling reporters that he could not say when the restrictions, which are in place to limit market volatility, would be lifted. (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Writing by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Chris Reese, Lincoln Feast and Jamie Freed)
