Five Major Financial Groups Surpass 13 Trillion Won in First-Half Net Profit for the First Time... Securities Firms Lead Growth

Top Five Financial Groups Report 9.7% Year-on-Year Rise in First-Half Net Profit
Securities Firms See Net Profit Soar 122% While Banks Record 0.6% Growth
NH Investment & Securities Nears 1 Trillion Won in First-Half Net Profit
Financial Groups Announce Share Buybacks, Cancellations, and Dividends for Shareholder Returns

The five major financial holding companies (KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH NongHyup) achieved record-breaking results in the first half of this year, with their combined net profit surpassing 13 trillion won.

According to the semiannual business performance disclosures of the five financial holding companies released on July 25, their total net profit for the first half of the year reached 13.1183 trillion won, marking a 9.7% increase from 11.9541 trillion won in the same period last year. Their combined net profit for the second quarter also reached a new high of 6.92 trillion won, up 9.6% from the same quarter last year.

By group, KB Financial Group maintained the top spot, posting a 13.1% year-on-year increase to 3.8846 trillion won. Shinhan Financial Group followed with a 13.3% rise to 3.4427 trillion won, Hana Financial Group with a 4.4% increase to 2.4029 trillion won, NongHyup Financial Group with a 9.2% increase to 1.7791 trillion won, and Woori Financial Group with a 3.7% increase to 1.609 trillion won.

Excluding Woori Financial Group, KB, Shinhan, Hana, and NongHyup Financial Groups all set record high first-half results. Woori Financial Group's net profit for the first quarter dropped by 2.4% year-on-year, as gains from securities and foreign exchange-related earnings fell due to rising volatility in the financial markets amid the Middle East war, and one-off provisions were reflected at overseas subsidiaries. However, its second-quarter net profit increased to 1.0046 trillion won, achieving a record high for the second quarter.

This year, solid interest income from the banks, alongside increased stock market trading volume and asset management scale, boosted fee and other non-interest income in the securities and asset management segments. The resulting performance improvements in non-bank affiliates drove overall earnings growth for the financial holding companies.

For the first half of this year, total interest income for the five financial groups reached 26.5469 trillion won, representing a 5.39% increase from 25.1901 trillion won in the same period last year. This growth was driven by robust loan growth, especially in corporate lending, even amid the government's stringent household loan regulations, as well as improvement in net interest margin (NIM). Non-interest income also saw a 27.6% jump to 10.9032 trillion won from 8.5418 trillion won last year, thanks to increases in securities custody and brokerage fees and expanded sales of financial products in a booming stock market.

The five major banks, which are key affiliates of the top five financial holding companies, posted a combined net profit of 9.3409 trillion won in the first half of this year, a 0.6% increase from 9.2854 trillion won in the same period last year.

Shinhan Bank recorded a net profit of 2.4585 trillion won for the first half, up 8.5% from 2.2668 trillion won a year earlier. KB Kookmin Bank's net profit also rose by 1.7%, from 2.1876 trillion won last year to 2.2254 trillion won this year. Hana Bank's net profit grew by 1.7% to reach 2.1211 trillion won, compared to 2.0851 trillion won in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Woori Bank's net profit dropped by 11.9%, from 1.558 trillion won to 1.373 trillion won, and NH NongHyup Bank's net profit also fell by 2.1%, from 1.1879 trillion won to 1.1629 trillion won. Increased interest income from corporate lending and rising fee income from funds, trusts, and bancassurance contributed to higher net profits at Shinhan, Kookmin, and Hana Banks. However, net profit at Woori Bank and NongHyup Bank declined due to higher provisions.

Securities firms led the net profit growth among the financial holding companies. The combined net profit of the securities firms under the five financial holding companies soared to 2.6373 trillion won in the first half of this year from 1.1866 trillion won a year earlier, a 122.26% surge.

NH Investment & Securities, in particular, reported a 107.5% year-on-year increase in net profit to 965.2 billion won. KB Securities followed with 796.3 billion won in net profit, up 135% year-on-year. Shinhan Investment & Securities saw its first-half net profit soar by 123.1% to 577.7 billion won. Hana Securities' net profit jumped 155.7% year-on-year to 273.1 billion won. Woori Investment & Securities posted a 47.1% jump in net profit, reaching 25 billion won, up from 17 billion won in the first half of last year.

The financial groups announced plans for large-scale shareholder returns in line with their record earnings, including major share buybacks and cancellations as well as increased dividends. KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group both plan share buybacks and cancellations worth 700 billion won each. Hana Financial Group and Woori Financial Group will conduct share buybacks and cancellations worth 250 billion won and 150 billion won, respectively.

KB Financial Group and Hana Financial Group have set their quarterly dividends at 1,155 won per share. Shinhan Financial Group has finalized a quarterly dividend of 740 won per share, while Woori Financial Group will pay 220 won per share for the quarter.

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