In addition, Korean Finance Minister Lee Kyu Sung says the government will provide 50 trillion won by year's end to spur new lending and bring capital adequacy ratios to the 8% recommended for international banks.

CNN: THE ASIAWEEK FINANCIAL 500

That yields capital-adequacy ratios of about 11%, well above the 8% that international rules require.

ECONOMIST: Their condition only gets worse

The two loss-making banks, among several others, were forced to submit restructuring plans to the government by the poor level of their capital-adequacy ratios.

ECONOMIST: Business this week | The

Of these, two international banks Yasuda Trust and Daiwa would have reported capital-adequacy ratios of less than 4%, a trigger under the new legislation for instant nationalisation.

ECONOMIST: Japanese banks