S.Korean financiers see possibility for financial crisis in near future: poll

SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Six out of 10 South Korean financiers saw a high possibility for a financial crisis to occur in the country in the near future, central bank poll showed Monday.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) survey of economic and financial experts at home and abroad, 58.3 percent said the possibility is high for the financial system crisis to be caused by a certain shock within a year.

It more than doubled 26.9 percent tallied in the previous survey in May. The November poll was conducted between Nov. 2 and 9.

The percentage of respondents who saw a high possibility for a certain shock to affect the financial system stability in the next 1-3 years was 40.3 percent in the November survey, up from 32.9 percent in the previous poll.

The percentage of those who held high credibility on the South Korean financial system slipped from 53.2 percent to 36.1 percent in the cited period.

Of the total, the highest 27.8 percent picked the worsened corporate financing conditions as the biggest risk factor to the South Korean financial system.

It was followed by 16.7 percent who selected the massive household debt and the higher debt-servicing burden as the biggest risk factor.

The BOK began to tighten its monetary policy stance in August last year, raising its benchmark interest rate from a record low of 0.50 percent to 3.25 percent.