Banking groups report a mixed third quarter

Home > Business > Finance

print dictionary print

Banking groups report a mixed third quarter

Major financial groups reported mixed results in the third quarter as they faced a challenging economy and a difficult operating environment.

Shinhan Financial Group achieved 981.6 billion won ($839 million) in net profit between July and September, a record high and the best performance in the sector.

The latest result is a 15.8 percent increase over the same period a year earlier, boosted especially by increased profits from non-banking activities, especially the insurance business.

Interest income, which is primarily from banking activities, also rose. Shinhan Bank’s interest income was up 6.6 percent on year to 694 billion won in the third quarter. Its net interest margin fell 0.05 basis points to 1.53 percent.

In addition to reporting its results, the bank also announced that it is planning to merge its two life insurance units - Shinhan Life Insurance and Orange Life Insurance - around the end of 2020 or early 2021. Last year, Shinhan Financial acquired a 59.15 percent stake in Orange Life Insurance, formerly known as ING Life Insurance.

KB Financial Group’s net profit fell 1.4 percent on year in the third quarter, in line with market expectations, due to one-off expenses, including severance payments.

Third-quarter net profit stood at 940.3 billion won, compared with a profit of 953.7 billion won for the same quarter last year, KB Financial said in a regulatory filing.

In the first nine months of this year, KB Financial’s net interest income rose 4.2 percent on year to 6.8 trillion won.

KB Financial’s net interest margin, a key barometer of profitability, fell 0.02 percentage points from the previous quarter to 1.94 percent.

KB Kookmin Bank reported a net profit of 701.6 billion won in the third-quarter, down 3.35 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Its net interest margin edged down 0.03 percentage points to 1.67 percent at the end of September, KB Financial said on Friday.

Hana Financial Group announced that its third-quarter net profit jumped 42 percent on-year, a result that includes proceeds from the sale of a former headquarters building.

Net profit stood at 836 billion won for the July-September quarter, compared with a profit of 589 billion won a year earlier, Hana Financial said in a regulatory filing.

The results include a 447.7 billion won gain (320 billion won after tax) from the sale of the former KEB headquarters in Myeongdong, central Seoul.

In the first nine months of the year, Hana Financial’s interest income and earnings from commission fees rose 2.3 percent on year to 6.1 trillion won.

Hana Financial said its net interest margin fell 0.07 percentage points to 1.48 percent at the end of June.

KEB Hana Bank posted a net profit of 757 billion won in the third quarter, up 34 percent from a year earlier.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YONHAP [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)