UBS GroupAG is considering a plan to relinquish its banking license in SouthKorea, Bloomberg News reported March 29, citing "a person familiar withthe matter"
The source said UBS has informed Korean regulators of itsplan, which aims to take advantage of the country's Capital MarketsConsolidation Act, implemented in 2009, which enables a bank's securities unitto use its permit to run other businesses — including equities and investmentbanking.
Jason Kendy, a Tokyo-based spokesman for the Swiss bank,reportedly wrote in an email that UBS is reviewing a number of approaches whichincludes "removing unnecessary duplications and simplifying [its] businessmodel."
The law paves the way for the introduction of a broader variety offinancial products and eases market entry restrictions on brokerages, futurestraders and asset managers, Bloomberg added.