Dark Clouds Gather in the New Year... Banks Strengthen Agility and Generation Shift

From the left, Jin Ok-dong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group; Han Yong-gu, President of Shinhan Bank; Lee Seung-yeol, President of Hana Bank; Lee Seok-jun, Chairman of NH Nonghyup Financial Group; and Lee Seok-yong, nominee for President of Nonghyup Bank.

[Asia Economy Reporters Bu Aeri and Yoo Jehoon] As the uncertain economic situation makes strengthening the competitiveness of financial sector operations increasingly important, major financial holding companies have simultaneously carried out organizational restructuring to enhance agility. In the cases of Shinhan and Hana Financial Groups, a generational shift has also begun with the appointment of young leaders.

◆Generational Shift at Shinhan and Hana= According to the financial sector on the 29th, Shinhan Financial Group has injected a large amount of young talent to promote a 'generational shift' while enhancing agility. Leading the way is Jin Ok-dong (born 1961, age 61), the next CEO and chairman nominee. Han Yong-gu (born 1966, age 56), Executive Vice President and Head of the Sales Group, was appointed as Shinhan Bank President, and Moon Dong-kwon (born 1968, age 54), Vice President, was nominated as President of Shinhan Card, signaling the start of the generational shift.

In key follow-up appointments within the group, executives in their mid-50s were placed in forward positions. Those promoted in this round include Kim Ki-heung, Executive Vice President of the Management Planning Group (age 54), Kim Yoon-hong, Executive Vice President of the Corporate Group (age 56), Lim Soo-han, Executive Vice President of the Digital Strategy Business Group (age 54), Hwang In-ha, Executive Vice President of the ICT Group (age 56), and Yong Un-ho, Executive Vice President of the Management Support Group (age 55). All five are in their early to mid-50s.

At Hana Financial Group, young leaders born in the 1970s have emerged. Kim Young-il (born 1971, age 51) was appointed Head of the Management Planning Group, making him the youngest among the newly appointed Executive Vice Presidents at Hana Financial. A young female leader with expertise was also appointed. Lee Eun-jung (born 1974, age 48), Head of the Investment Products Division, was promoted to division head in recognition of her exceptional capabilities and achievements in asset management.

Lee Seung-yeol (age 59), President of Hana Life Insurance, was nominated as the next Hana Bank President. He is the first Hana Bank President from the former Woori Bank side since the 2015 merger of Hana Bank and Woori Bank. The group’s executive nomination committee stated, "As financial environment uncertainties increase and crises intensify, we selected individuals capable of stably strengthening sales capabilities and thoroughly managing risks to lead sustainable growth."

NH Nonghyup Financial also appointed Lee Seok-jun (age 63), former head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination and a former bureaucrat, as the next chairman, and appointed Lee Seok-yong (age 57), current head of the Planning and Coordination Headquarters at Nonghyup Central Association, as Nonghyup Bank President.

◆KB Focuses on 'Stability'= KB Financial Group conducted personnel appointments emphasizing organizational stability, contrasting with other financial holding companies that injected a large amount of young talent. KB Financial maintained its four-business-group system, managed by three vice chairmen and one general division head. The structure where the three vice chairmen compete for the next chairman position remains unchanged.

Vice Chairmen Heo In, Lee Dong-cheol, and Yang Jong-hee, all born in 1961 and in their 60s, were retained. They are responsible for the Personal Customer Division’s Wealth Management (WM), Pension, and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) divisions; the Global and Insurance divisions; and the Digital and IT divisions, respectively. However, KB Financial newly established the Asset Management (AM) Division to strengthen asset management capabilities. The Capital Markets Division, Corporate Investment Banking (CIB) Division, and AM Division are overseen by Park Jung-rim, General Division Head and Co-CEO of KB Securities.

◆Banks Strengthen Digital and Sales Capabilities= Banks have simultaneously implemented organizational restructuring to strengthen sales competitiveness and digital capabilities. KB Kookmin Bank converted its Deposit Products Department and Personal Loan Department into platform organizations to enhance collaboration between product developers and IT personnel. Additionally, it introduced the position of Part Manager (PM) to enable agile decision-making. PMs are granted rapid decision-making authority to implement a proactive and agile operational system.

Shinhan Bank also carried out organizational restructuring focusing on internal control and digital transformation. It established a Compliance Management Department and expanded the existing Digital Strategy Group into the Digital Strategy Business Group and Open Innovation Group.

Hana Bank strengthened sales competitiveness in regional markets by dividing the existing Sales Group into the Central Sales Group, Yeongnam Sales Group, and Honam Sales Group, and newly establishing sales headquarters within each regional sales group to reorganize the sales structure around the field. The bank also expanded the sales function of the head office by creating a Fund Market Group and assigning the Fund Market Headquarters within the group.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.