[THE INVESTOR] The Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service announced on Nov. 21 that they have launched a joint audit of the local operations of JP Morgan and HSBC. 

It is reportedly a regular audit conducted every two to three years, and will be wrapped up by Dec. 8, with a focus on overall funding and operations as well as their real estate loans. 

The BOK will focus on monetary management and fairness, and the FSS will inspect internal controls, risk management, and violations of laws and regulations. In addition, as European banks are accelerating their withdrawal from the domestic market, the financial authorities plan to see the impact of asset reduction schemes.

Three foreign banks -- Goldman Sachs, Royal Bank of Scotland and BBVA -- received approval to shut down in June this year amid their declining profitability. In 2016, UBS and Barclays said they also intend to exit.
European banks, which mostly focus on investment banking, are seeking to restructure their global operations as the burden of capital expansion has been growing due to tighter global derivatives trading regulations. 

By Alex Lee (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)