CLS Bank International (CLS Bank) has added the Korean Won to the list of currencies considered eligible for processing over the interbank settlement system.
The Korean Won is expected to become eligible in 2004 once it has satisfied all CLS Bank regulations and the technical implementation is completed.
The new currency will join the Japanese yen, euro, pound sterling, Swiss franc and the US, Australian and Canadian dollars.
Shang Heon Lee, assistant governor of the Bank of Korea, says the country's commercial banks will benefit tremendously from CLS and it will help strengthen the competitiveness of the Seoul foreign exchange market.
CLS Bank is currently awaiting regulatory approval to add the Danish kroner, Norwegian krone, Swedish krona and the Singapore dollar as eligible currencies later in the year. The Hong Kong and New Zealand dollars, which were previously endorsed in principle by the the bank's board, are expected to follow in 2004.
A total of 54 banks are now settling payment instructions associated with foreign exchange trades through CLS Bank, with over 60 third parties also live. The bank says it is now settling on average over 80,000 of instructions each day by its Settlement Members, with a gross value in the region of US$1 trillion.