ABSTRACT
Korea has a substantial number of financial institutions which the Bank of Korea, the central bank, has grouped into six general categories, the last category being the Bank of Korea itself. The total assets of the Bank of Korea are relatively small in relation to the assets of other financial institutions. An important factor contributing to Korea's impressive economic growth has been the high rate of export growth. An important aspect of how the financial system operates is Korea's monetary policy, which in certain respects has been lacking. Before the establishment in April 1998 of the new Financial Supervisory Commission, Korea had four separate supervisory institutions for the financial system. In addition to banks and nonbank financial institutions, Korea also has four other groups of financial institutions. These consist of four securities institutions, two credit guarantee institutions, a large number of venture capital companies, and five miscellaneous financial institutions.
