Hana Bank said on April 16 it signed a business agreement with Next Securities at its headquarters in Euljiro, Seoul, on April 15 on FX transactions and custody services for foreign securities investment, to improve the domestic stock investment environment for overseas investors.

The agreement was pursued as part of building financial infrastructure to respond to the government's capital market advancement policies, including reforms to the FX market structure and the introduction of integrated trading accounts for foreign stock investors, and to improve overseas investors' access to the domestic market.

Under the agreement, the two firms decided to cooperate on sharing and trading real-time exchange-rate information based on an FX API, custody services for foreign securities investment for settlement by overseas brokerages at domestic exchanges, and applying real-time exchange rates to overseas investors 24 hours a day.

It is expected to improve trading convenience for overseas investors who have faced inconvenience due to time limits on won-dollar trading, and to enable additional services such as won settlement after stock trades and disclosure services.

Cho Beom-jun (조범준), an executive director in Hana Bank's Financial Markets Group, said, "Cooperation with Next Securities has laid the foundation for the Seoul FX market and the domestic stock market to expand onto the global stage." He added, "As a leading FX bank, we will continue to contribute to innovation in financial services for capital markets and to the internationalisation of the won."

Kim Seung-yeon (김승연), CEO of Next Securities, said, "This agreement is aimed at building FX and custody infrastructure in advance, in line with policy direction, before launching new financial investment services." He added, "We will continue to prepare to respond to changes in the global investment environment."