Watchdog issues institutional caution on KB Kookmin Bank

South Korea's financial watchdog said Friday it has issued an institutional caution against KB Kookmin Bank and fined the country's top lender 54.5 million won (US$49,086) for breaching regulations on loans and personal data. An institutional caution, which does not lead to any business disadvantage, is the weakest level of punishment that can be imposed on a financial firm. "An institutional caution and fine were imposed on the bank, with reprimands made against employees that broke the rules. A caution was also issued to the current and former heads for their responsibility in prompting unfair sales activities," the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in an e-mailed statement. According to the FSS, the lender set excessive deposit goals, which forced bank employees to engage in unfair sales activities when extending loans to small and mid-size enterprises. The bank was also found to have breached real-name financial transaction rules and mistreated the credit information of some customers, it said.