Cyber risk gains ground in Korean financial firms’ credit ratings
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“AI Cybersecurity” is seen behind a keyboard in this illustration, Sept. 23. Reuters-Yonhap
Cyberattacks are becoming a more consequential credit risk for financial firms, as the damage can extend beyond data theft to operational disruptions and higher funding costs. Korea Ratings is considering more objective ways to measure firms’ exposure to cyber threats, industry officials said Sunday.
In a recent report, the ratings agency said cyber risk can weaken both a financial institution’s business prospects and its financial health. International rating agencies have already downgraded companies after cyberattacks disrupted operations or exposed weaknesses in internal controls.
In 2019, S&P Global Ratings cut Bank of Valletta’s rating to BBB- from BBB following a cyberattack, citing operational risks and governance weaknesses that hurt its creditworthiness.
Korea Ratings has also recently incorporated cyber-related concerns into its assessment of a domestic financial firm. In March, it lowered Lotte Card’s score for the “risk management” factor in its regular credit assessment. Lotte Card disclosed a data breach in August last year that exposed information belonging to about 2.97 million customers.
The recent spate of breaches across Korea’s financial sector has brought the issue into sharper focus.
Since Oct. 1, seven financial firms have reported data leaks affecting more than 67,000 people. They include the country’s three largest commercial lenders — Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank — as well as Busan Bank, Yegaram Savings Bank, Welcome Savings Bank and Hyundai Capital.
Korea Ratings already factors cyber risk into its assessments, including through adjustments to the “risk management” component and among other environmental, social and governance factors. It is now looking at ways to supplement those qualitative judgments with more objective measures of firms’ exposure to cyber risk.
“Cyber risk has evolved into a multifaceted credit risk that can simultaneously weaken profitability, cash flow, liquidity and capital adequacy while increasing regulatory costs, damaging reputation and raising funding costs. We believe its importance to creditworthiness has also grown,” Kim Jung-hyun, a credit specialist at Korea Ratings, wrote in the report.
