Seoul foreign banks pay big dividends to parent firms

Foreign banks operating in South Korea have transferred a large sum of dividends and consulting fees to their parents firms, industry data showed Sunday, triggering a controversy over a massive capital outflow and the local units' financial soundness. According to the data, two foreign banks -- Citibank Korea Inc. and Standard Chartered Bank Korea -- have paid a total of 3.25 trillion won (US$3.18 billion) in dividends and consulting fees to their parent firms over the past 10 years, which is equivalent to 56.2 percent of their combined net profit of 5.78 trillion won over the cited period.