Toss Group has been designated a financial conglomerate for the first time this year, the first such designation for a big-tech finance group.
The Financial Services Commission designated eight financial groups — Samsung, Hanwha, Mirae Asset, Kyobo, Hyundai Motor, DB, Daou Kioom and Toss, listed in order of total assets — as financial conglomerates for 2026 at its 13th regular meeting Wednesday.
Samsung and five other groups have held the designation for six consecutive years since 2021, while Daou Kioom has been designated for five consecutive years since 2022.
Toss joined the list this year as a new addition. As of the end of last year, the group's total assets stood at 41.3 trillion won ($27.7 billion), with 33 trillion won in its core lending and deposit business and 7.2 trillion won in its non-core financial investment business — satisfying all criteria for designation as a financial conglomerate.
The FSC has designated financial conglomerates annually since 2021 to supervise and manage financial and operational risks that can arise at the group level.
Groups designated as financial conglomerates must select a lead financial company and report it to the Financial Supervisory Service. They must also conduct regular self-assessments of group-level risks — including risk concentration and contagion — and establish and comply with internal control and risk management policies and standards.
They must disclose material information necessary to protect financial consumers and report it to financial authorities. To ensure financial soundness, groups must maintain a group capital ratio of at least 100 percent.
Supervisory authorities conduct annual assessments of additional risks and evaluate risk conditions and management practices on a three-year cycle. An FSC official said the designation "will serve as an opportunity to strengthen group-level risk management and supervision of big-tech finance."
ehkim@heraldcorp.com
