Korean regulator likely to probe issuers of rate-linked products

Mis-selling enquiry may extend to structuring banks as global rates plunge threatens retail notes

IBK Securities is one of the houses said to have issued many of the interest rate products

An investigation into the mis-selling of interest rate-linked products in South Korea is likely to be extended to examine the role of structurers and issuers, as retail-dominated investments in the instruments stand to be wiped out amid plummeting global rates.

Private banks Woori Bank and KEB Hana are alleged to have mis-sold investment products tied to the yields on the Treasury bonds of Germany, the UK and the US. The products have come under scrutiny after August’s nosedive in bond yields