Watchdog issues institutional caution on KEB

South Korea's financial regulator said Friday it has issued an institutional caution as well as a 54.5 million won (US$50,332) fine on Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) for breaching regulations on loan and personal information. "An institutional caution and fine were imposed on the bank, with reprimands made against employees that broke current rules," the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement. An institutional caution, which does not lead to any business disadvantages, is the weakest level of punishment that can be imposed on a financial firm. According to the FSS, 14 employees at the country's No. 5 largest lender illegally checked the credit information of their family members for more than one year. The bank also failed to verify loan-related documents and real-name financial transaction rules, it said. The FSS said it visited KEB's board meeting earlier this month to explain the inspection results and called for measures to prevent a recurrence of such irregularities in the future.