South Korea's Shinhan Brokerage to Offer Blockchain-Based Securities Lending

Shinhan Financial Investment will soon be offering peer-to-peer stock lending via the blockchain.

When the new service is introduced this year, individuals will be able to borrow and lend securities with other individuals directly, rather than going through an intermediary.

Securities lending and borrowing transactions are normally inefficient and expensive for anyone but larger investors.

Shinhan Financial Investment, which is a brokerage related to the country's second largest banking group by assets, is developing the capability in cooperation with Directional, a Korean company that has been permitted by the Financial Service Commission to provide stock lending and borrowing as part of the government's sandbox initiative.

No timeframe has been reported for the roll out of the Shinhan offering.

Shinhan Bank has been aggressive in its pursuit of blockchain solutions.

Like most commercial banks in Korea, Shinhan has been more enthusiastic about blockchain than pure crypto, tracking the official government stance but running counter to customer appetite for coins.

The bank was for a while more positive on crypto and accepted deposits from cryptoexchanges and exchange customers rejected by other banks.

In light of increased scrutiny by the authorities from 2018, and in light of new FATF standards, the bank has upped its surveillance of crypto-connected accounts and is instituting systems and procedures to enforce real-name account requirements and adhere to Know-Your-Customer best practices.

Like other banks, it is currently renegotiating its cryptoexchange deposit agreements.