Standard Chartered Korea will merge its bank with its financial holding company on Dec. 1 as part of a move to streamline operations and improve earnings, financial sources said Tuesday.
  

Sources said the merger approved by the Financial Services Commission, South Korea's top financial regulator, involves Standard Chartered Bank Korea absorbing the financial holding company.
  

The bank will also control Standard Chartered Securities Korea, a unit of the financial holding company.
  

London-based Standard Chartered already sold off its capital and savings bank operations earlier this year, while its funds service firm was absorbed by the bank in September 2014.
  

The latest merger will mark the end of foreign-operated financial holding companies in South Korea. Standard Chartered was the first to set up a financial holding company in the country in June 2009.
  

Financial insiders said that Standard Chartered Korea held a meeting of its board members in May to approve the reorganization and merger.
  

"In the case of foreign financial firms, the importance of their banking arms overshadows all other business operations so there was little to be gained from maintaining a separate financial holding company," an observer said.
  

He said that by focusing on its core banking operations, Standard Chartered should be able to improve its competitiveness and profits that have been hurt recently.
  

Last week, Standard Chartered unveiled a voluntary retirement program for longtime employees, which watchers say could affect nearly half of the bank's 5,600 employees here. (Yonhap)