This article appeared on Signal, the capital markets compass, at 10:13 a.m. on March 14, 2025.
Controversy has emerged over whether Hana Securities neglected retail investor protection, after it was confirmed that the firm both extended a real estate collateral loan to Homeplus and sold securitized bonds to individual investors. While the bonds sold to retail investors were not the same as those received through the collateral loan, the result is that institutional investors will recover their money before individuals for the same underlying asset, Homeplus. In response, Hana Securities says its collateral loan department and its securitized bond sales department did not share information, and that it too is a victim of the securitized bond default, as it was unaware of Homeplus’s rehabilitation plan.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry Thursday, Hana Securities executed a 150 billion won collateral loan to Homeplus last year. Of this, 100 billion won was resold to institutional investors, with Hana Securities holding the remainder. This loan is of the same nature as the 1.2 trillion won real estate collateral loan made by Meritz Financial Group around the same time, placing Hana Securities second in line for debt repayment behind Meritz Financial.
At the same time, Hana Securities sold approximately 250 billion won in securitized bonds (ABSTB) to individual investors, issued by special purpose companies (SPCs) such as SY Plus No. 1, backed by Homeplus card payment receivables. These bonds were arranged by Shinyoung Securities and sold through seven to eight brokerages including Hana and NH. The product works by paying Homeplus suppliers via credit card, and since suppliers receive their payments after a certain period, the securitized bonds are sold during that interval to pay the suppliers. Retail investors invested based on the high 6 percent annual yield with a three-month maturity, trusting the brands of Homeplus, Hyundai Card and Lotte Card. According to Hana Securities’ estimate, the total ABSTB sold by Homeplus currently stands at around 350 billion won.
However, as Homeplus entered corporate rehabilitation, the invested funds will go first to the holders of the 150 billion won secured loan. Securitized bond investors rank behind not only Meritz Financial and Hana Securities but also investors in commercial paper (CP) and electronic short-term bonds.
Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Bok-hyun addressed the controversy over ABSTB investor losses that day, stating that “at a minimum, an inspection of financial companies is unavoidable.” The FSS has in fact launched inspections of Shinyoung Securities and credit rating agencies.
A Hana Securities official explained, “Unlike banks, loans from a brokerage’s corporate finance department are not executed without stock or real estate collateral,” adding, “The collateral loan was executed last year, but the bonds sold to individual investors are an unrelated product—bonds issued in 2023 that continued to be reissued.”