The recent 100% acquisition of Korea First Bank (KFB) by Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) enabled the SCB to establish its presence in Korea. KFB is Korea's seventh largest bank in terms of market share. KFB has a strong presence in the local market. This Korean Won (KRW) 3.4 tn (US$3.3 bn)acquisition is the largest foreign direct investment into Korea. It will help the SCB leverage its global network and benefit from the growing market in the world.

On January 10, 2005, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) announced the acquisition of 100% stake in Korea First Bank (KFB)-the seventh largest bank in South Korea (Korea) in terms of assets with a market share of approximately 6% and a three million plus retail customer base. The merged entity named "SC Jeil Eun Haeng" (Korean for SC First Bank) was the first instance when SCB had fully combined its name with a local entity. The brand name reflected the collective strength of KFB's locally recognized name and heritage with SCB's international presence and underlined SCB's commitment to the Korean market. The 3.4 trillion (U$3.3 bn) Korean Won (KRW) acquisition was the largest foreign direct investment into Korea. The acquisition enabled SCB to establish its presence in Korea, an economic super power in Asia, leveraging its global network and wide array of innovative products to penetrate the vast untapped Korean market.

The Korean banking sector was largely protected and operated under strict government regulations prior to the Asian financial crisis of 1997. The government-led restructuring following the crisis aimed at instilling some stability into the financial system and promoting efficiency and soundness of the banking institutions. Since then, Korea has emerged as the 3^rd largest economy in Asia with a GDP of US$667 bn (in 2004) and a forecasted real GDP growth of 4.5% during 2005-07. Japan's economy is largest in Asia (GDP US$4,621 bn), followed by China with a GDP of US$1,601 bn. The US$44 bn banking sector of Korea was also the third largest in Asia, with Japan followed by China leading the pack. The US$44 bn market consisted of US$30 bn from consumer banking and US$14 bn from wholesale banking.

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