[Provided by Hana Bank]
[Provided by Hana Bank]

Hana Bank said Friday it had completed a $50 million won-denominated swap transaction in London with a registered foreign institution, or RFI — the first such deal by a Korean bank with an RFI counterpart.

The transaction marks the first time the bank's London funding center directly supplied won liquidity overseas to meet actual swap demand arising outside Korea.

Hana Bank said the deal expands the practical foundation for won-denominated trading abroad, in line with government and foreign-exchange authority efforts to improve access to the Korean won market — including the extension of domestic foreign-exchange trading hours and the introduction of the RFI regime.

RFIs are overseas financial institutions registered with the Ministry of Economy and Finance to participate directly in Korea's foreign-exchange market. Current registrants include the head offices and branches of major US and European banks, as well as overseas branches of Korean banks.

The regime was formally introduced in 2023 to improve won-trading access for foreign financial institutions and overseas branches of Korean banks, and to promote the globalization of Korea's foreign-exchange market.

Hana Bank opened its London funding center, Hana Infinity, in July 2024 and has since pursued the activation of won trading and the expansion of its overseas won business.

In April, it became the first Korean commercial bank to join the London Stock Exchange Group's SwapAgent platform.

The London funding center plans to extend its operations into won-denominated government bond trading, domestic share-related transactions and won derivative products.

On Aug. 12, the bank also opened a foreign-exchange and capital transactions center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, dedicated to handling foreign direct investment into Korea, outbound direct investment and overseas securities acquisition.

"This transaction is significant in that it supplied won liquidity through direct dealing between RFI institutions to meet actual won swap demand arising overseas," an official at the London funding center said. "As Korea's leading foreign-exchange specialist bank, Hana Bank will play an active role in improving won accessibility for global market participants and in promoting won-denominated trading."


hyuk@heraldcorp.com