Woori Bank Secures Government Bond Trading via Global Payment Network

Woori Bank announced on August 20 that it has completed a package deal for trading and settlement of government bonds through international financial institutions and the International Central Securities Depository (ICSD), along with related foreign exchange (FX) transactions.

The ICSD is an international securities settlement network used by global investors for trading overseas securities, with Euroclear and Clearstream being prominent examples. Foreign investors can trade Korean government bonds using a unified account established by the ICSD with the Korea Securities Depository, eliminating the need for separate custodians or individual accounts.

Previously, domestic financial institutions were unable to participate in offshore settlements through the ICSD, limiting their ability to directly supply government bonds to foreign investors. In January, the government and related agencies established guidelines allowing domestic banks and securities firms to directly trade and settle government bonds with foreign investors via the ICSD.

Woori Bank has successfully connected this regulatory improvement to actual transactions. By integrating government bond supply with KRW currency exchange and FX derivative transactions, the bank enables foreign investors to access all necessary financial services for bond investments in one package.

To achieve this, Woori Bank engaged with various overseas financial institutions in the first half of the year to assess investment demand and established a dedicated system that connects customer verification (KYC) with government bond sales and FX derivative transactions.

Choi Jun-ki, head of Woori Bank's Capital Market Sales Division, stated, “This transaction is significant as it allows a domestic bank to utilize a global payment network to directly supply government bonds to overseas institutional investors while also linking FX transactions. We aim to expand package sales combining government bonds and FX hedging for global financial institutions, supporting the globalization of the Korean government bond market.”