Household HSBC Watch

HSBC should not be allowed to buy Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) until all legal investigations into the domestic lender are resolved, South Korea’s finance minister says. Kwon O-Kyu’s comments in Thursday’s Financial Times could signal a setback to hopes of sealing the 6.3 billion dollar deal quickly.

Kwon said South Korea’s watchdog the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) was correct in withholding approval for the deal until all court cases regarding KEB’s previous sale are concluded. “The court will decide whether all the legal procedures were met…so I think the FSS should decide after the (court’s) decision,” Kwon told the Financial Times.