Samsung Securities Finally Secures Commercial Paper Approval... Eight Firms Now Competing

Approved at Financial Services Commission Meeting... First Challenge in Nine Years

Samsung Securities has received regulatory approval for short-term financial business from the financial authorities, officially entering the commercial paper (CP) market. This marks its challenge after a nine-year hiatus. With Samsung Securities joining, the domestic commercial paper market has now expanded to an eight-company competitive structure.

The Financial Services Commission announced on September 9, 2026, that at its 15th regular meeting, it finalized the approval of Samsung Securities' commercial paper (short-term financial business) operations in accordance with Article 360 of the Capital Markets Act. As a result, the number of domestic commercial paper operators has increased to eight, now including Korea Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Hana Securities, and Shinhan Investment Corp., in addition to Samsung Securities.

Commercial paper refers to securities issued by investment firms designated as comprehensive financial investment companies with equity capital of at least 4 trillion won. These products mature in one year or less and are issued on the company's own credit, with a total issuance ceiling of up to 200% of equity capital. Due to the ability to procure large-scale funds in a stable manner, CP issuance is regarded as a core business for leading investment banks.

Considering that Samsung Securities' equity capital stood at approximately 8 trillion won as of the end of June 2026, applying the 200% limit would allow for capital procurement of up to about 16 trillion won. Samsung Securities is expected to launch products in the near future, leveraging its strength in wealth management (WM) as a competitive advantage. As of the end of June, the firm's retail assets amounted to 652.4 trillion won, and it counted 572,000 high-net-worth clients.

This is the first time Samsung Securities has received approval for commercial paper issuance since being designated as a comprehensive financial investment company about nine years ago in 2017. At the time, eligibility review was suspended due to legal proceedings related to major shareholders, and as a result, approval was not granted. The following year, the attempt was also thwarted due to sanctions stemming from a dividend payout incident.

Subsequently, as major securities firms continued to pursue entry into the commercial paper market, Samsung Securities reapplied for short-term financial business approval in July last year. However, the review was suspended over concerns of potential sanctions related to improper sales practices at wealth management branch offices. The procedure resumed after the Financial Services Commission, in July, ruled that the sanctions related to such branch offices would amount only to an institutional warning and would not disqualify a company from being approved for CP issuance.

Securities firms approved to issue commercial paper are required to supply 25% of the funds raised via CP as venture capital from their total managed assets by 2028. An official from the Financial Services Commission stated, "With this approval, there are now eight comprehensive financial investment companies authorized to conduct short-term financial operations. We anticipate that they will respond to various corporate funding needs, including the supply of venture capital."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.