the company said. Mr. Ghosn said: "The appointment of Carlos Tavares is a first step in strengthening Renault's management." The appointment followed the resignation in April of Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata, who took responsibility for a debacle in which the company was misled into firing three executives--including a member of its management committee. It accused them of selling proprietary information outside the company, but eventually exonerated and compensated them. Police are now investigating a plot to defraud the company by members of the auto maker's internal security service, three of whom have been fired. The incident badly damaged staff morale, and Mr. Pelata's departure left a large gap in senior management, as he had been effectively running Renault's day-to-day operations since the 2008 financial crisis. Renault also faces business challenges. Renault-branded cars have struggled against the brands of French rival PSA Peugeot Citroen. Sales have risen strongly for Renault's low-cost brand Dacia, but these are mostly made in Romania, leading to complaints from the French government that Mr. Ghosn is shifting production out of France. Mr. Tavares arrin places like Hong Kong and Singapore. Such outsourcing is illegal in Korea. "Such practices are part of the foreign banks' desire to manage their entire Asian portfolio," Kim said. "In cases of big investment banks, trading on a regional level can have a great impact on the domestic financial markets as such management can lead to sharp changes to the portfolios of the banks' local branches." The FSS plans to inspect 15 foreign banks operating in Korea every year to monitor their fund management from this year, citing the need to proactively manage potential market risks. "Foreign banking branches (in Korea) are considered to have a great effect in increasing the volatility of capital flows in and out of the market," the FSS said in a separate statement, adding such branches tend to take on short-term foreign currency borrowings to conduct derivatives or government bonds trading. Kim told reporters HSBC Holdings PLC and Credit Agricole S.A. have already been sanctioned for improper outsourcing of operations involving derivatives. He added that another European bank may be sanctioned fo